Critics of Facebook have constantly attacked the website's controversial privacy settings. The man behind Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, recently expressed his belief in the benefits of sharing information online. However, Zuckerberg's own privacy was violated when a series of private photographs was revealed in December 2011. This happened after instructions for how to circumvent Facebook’s privacy systems were revealed online. Adopting this method, some users raided Zuckerberg’s private Facebook albums and shared their contents, which included photos of him with his girlfriend.
In 2008, the Canadian internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) filed a complaint to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada against Facebook. They claimed the website had violated Canadian privacy laws. A team of law students analysed the company's policies and were highly critical of the privacy settings. Harley Finkelstein, one of the law students involved, claimed "even if you select the strongest privacy settings, your information may be shared more widely if your Facebook friends have lower privacy settings."
Facial recognition system:
A further privacy controversy to hit Facebook was the discreet introduction of technology from the company that automatically identifies people in photographs on the website. After uploading photos users would be greeted with the "Tag Suggestions" system, which adopts facial recognition software in order to identify individuals in the photos. It encouraged their friends to tag them so that others can easily access the images, even without the agreement of the individual who has been "tagged".
Offence caused in India:
The Indian government threatened action against Facebook this month because of "offensive" and "derogatory" material. Other social networking sites, such as Twitter, have also been threatened.
India's Telecom and Information Technology minister Kapil Sibal said such websites should be "sensitive to Indian sensibilities" after "offensive" material was published against the Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi and the Indian prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh. However, his comments were criticised as being an attempt at censorship.
'Draw Mohammed' Facebook page forces cartoonist into hiding:
Molly Norris, an American satirical cartoonist, was forced to go into hiding on the advice of the FBI after creating a Facebook page called "Everybody Draw Mohammed". In September 2010, Norris was forced to move and even change her name after Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki called for her assassination. Depictions of the prophet is strictly prohibited within Islam and is regarded as highly blasphemous. The controversy led to Facebook being temporarily blocked in Pakistan, and even sparked angry protests on the streets.
Followers:
Groups created on Facebook have lead to some of the sites biggest controversies. Nearly 5,000 people joined a group set up by a Facebook user in 2008 which urged people to "Kick a Ginger".