Facebook has reached a negotiated settlement with the Canadian government that would improve the privacy of users of the popular social network site, Canada’s privacy czar said Thursday.
The agreement follows an investigation by Canada’s privacy commissioner into the way Facebook manages its users personal information. Specifically, the probe examined Facebook’s policy of maintaining users’ personal data after accounts are closed — a violation of Canadian law.
“This morning, I am very pleased to be able to tell you that — following further discussions with Facebook — the company has now agreed to make several changes which address the issues uncovered during our investigation,” the AFP news agency quoted Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart as saying.
The changes are set to be implemented throughout Facebook’s entire network over the coming year, and would apply worldwide, she added.
The changes are expected to address similar concerns of European Union regulators and Australia’s privacy commissioner, she said.
“Increasingly, the protection of personal information is a global issue. Our personal information is now constantly circling the planet.”
“I would hope, that in the future, more due diligence in the area of privacy will be done by global technology firms.”
The commission had investigated Facebook’s policy of retaining personal information of users who had deactivated their accounts, a practice that violates Canadian law established by a Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. That law requires companies and organizations to hold onto personal information only for as long as is necessary to meet proper purposes.
A complaint from Canada’s Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic had triggered the probe.
In a report last month, the commission said it had “an overarching concern” that the privacy information Facebook provides its users is “often confusing or incomplete.”
The social networking site was also accused of not providing sufficient restrictions to outside software developers in accessing personal information that Facebook’s more than 250 million users put on profile pages.
A large component of Facebook’s popularity has been the capability of third-party software developers to make trendy, functional mini-applications that users install on profile pages.
Indeed, some 950,000 developers in 180 nations develop Facebook applications, with games and quiz programs among the most popular, the commissioner said in the report.
With the Facebook probe now concluded, Stoddart’s office is turning to other social networking sites to make sure they comply with Canada’s law, she said.
One firm has already initiated discussions about privacy issues with the commissioner, she added.
“With the conclusion of the Facebook investigation, our office has made clear our expectations for how social networking sites need to protect personal information,” Assistant Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, who led the Facebook investigation, told the AFP news agency.
“Other sites should take note, and take steps to ensure they’re complying with Canadian law.”
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