Act today to protect your privacy online

Dear MoveOn member,

Every day, we entrust more and more of our private information to websites and online social networks like Facebook. So I take Internet privacy very seriously.

That's why I'm so concerned with the changes Facebook recently made to its privacy policy and use of personal data on third party websites. These changes take away important control that users had over who has access to their information.^1,2

I and others have expressed our concern about these changes and Facebook is starting to feel the pressure. Now, as Facebook considers how to respond to the outcry from its customers,³ we all need to keep up the pressure.

That's why I'm asking you to join me in urging Facebook to stop sharing your information without your permission, by setting your status today to read:

"Facebook should stop sharing my personal info with outside companies without my permission. If you agree, set this as your status today and join this group: http://bit.ly/d1ZB6h"

Facebook provides a valuable service, but online social networks need to allow users to retain control over their own personal information.

The information that Facebook is now sharing with third-parties and with the public is very different from the spirit of the site's previous terms of service.⁴ Certain parts of your profile, including your hometown, interests and activities, and your profile picture, must be made public or deleted—even if you restricted whom they were shared with before. Certain third-party partners now have access to all of this information, including your list of friends and their information, as soon as you visit their websites—without asking your permission.

These changes undermine the protection of your personal information on the web.

Recently, I sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking them to examine the use and distribution of personal information by social networking sites like Facebook.⁵ Three other senators and I also sent a letter directly to Facebook, urging them to provide an opt-in mechanism that would seek your permission before sharing your information.⁶

Facebook can take immediate action to remedy this situation—but before they will they need to hear from enough users who care.

Can you join me in advocating for privacy on the web?

If you're on Facebook set your status to read:

"Facebook should stop sharing my personal info with outside companies without my permission. If you agree, set this as your status today and join this group: http://bit.ly/d1ZB6h"

Thank you for joining me in advocating for a safer, better Internet.

Sincerely,

Senator Charles Schumer

Sources:

1. "Facebook privacy changes would share user data with other sites," The Washington Post, March 29, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=88264&id=20502-10220574-aj.oL7x&t=1

2. "The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook," mattmckeon.com, May 11, 2010
http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/

3. "Facebook Calls All Hands Meeting on Privacy," allfacebook.com, May 12, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=88265&id=20502-10220574-aj.oL7x&t=2

4. "New Facebook Privacy Complaint Filed with Trade Commission," Electronic Privacy Information Center, May 5, 2010
http://epic.org/2010/05/new-facebook-privacy-complaint.html

5. Press Release, Office of Senator Charles E. Schumer, April 26, 2010,
http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=324175

6. Press Release, Office of Senator Charles E. Schumer, April 27, 2010,
http://schumer.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=324221

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