International Law

Yahoo privacy boss distances herself from Facebook

It really isn't surprising that companies that are not Facebook are concerned that Facebook's attitude to privacy means that other internet companies are having also big targets placed on their backs.

Yahoo privacy boss distances herself from Facebook - The Globe and Mail

...?Mark Zuckerberg is younger than me,? Ms. Toth, the California-based Chief Privacy Officer of search engine giant Yahoo Inc., says with an exasperated shrug during an interview. ?Just because a CEO says something, doesn?t mean he is going to be right.?

What Ms. Toth is lamenting is the privacy policies of Facebook?s 25-year-old founder. The social media site found itself the subject of criticism this week from Canada?s Privacy Commissioner and four U.S. senators, who complained that a recent set of innovations improperly exposed the Internet habits and personal opinions of users. A New York Times reporter fuelled the controversy when he posted a quote on Twitter from an unnamed Facebook employee saying Mr. Zuckerberg, ?doesn?t believe? in privacy.

That type of attitude, Ms. Toth said, is putting Internet companies in harm?s way with regulators and customers who are agitating for improved privacy protections. If the industry doesn?t work together to simplify and standardize website privacy settings, she warns regulators are going to start imposing harsher rules. ...

Full post as published by The Canadian Privacy Law Blog on April 30, 2010 (boomark / email).