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Facebook privacy: a guide
Ars Technica 14th August 2009
This article shows you how to dig a little deeper into Facebook's privacy settings and control who of your friends can see what. The settings include controls that let you group your friends and decide which friends can see your photos, videos and other personal information.

Facebook tweaks its terms to address ads, privacy
CNET News 11th August 2009
Facebook is asking for feedback from users about its new terms of use and privacy policies, and this article comments on some of the proposed changes.

Why social networks like their privacy policies private
New Scientist 31st July 2009
Recent research shows that having prominent privacy policies may actually deter users from sharing information. However another study suggests that larger, older and more successful websites have been forced to learn that privacy matters because of pressure from their users.

Can You Protect Your Image While on Facebook?
New York Times 24th July 2009
Ads on Facebook that inappropriately used members' profile pictures set off a mini firestorm online. This article looks at what options are available to prevent this happening to you.

Aussie privacy watchdog puts bite on Facebook
Suff 24th July 2009
Findings that Facebook breaches Canadian privacy law have led the Australian Privacy Commissioner to ask similar questions. Possible breaches of Australian privacy law include the indefinite retention of users' personal information after a user has discontinued their account.

Facebook needs to improve privacy practices, investigation finds
Office of the Privacy Commissioner Canada 16th July 2009
A privacy complaint made against Facebook has lead to a finding that in four instances Facebook lacks safeguards when handling personal information. Findings state that the most serious example was the lack of protection when third party applications access users' personal information.

Facebook should compete on privacy, not hide it away
Guardian 15th July 2009
A website that prominently displays information about privacy can successfully alert website users to look after their personal information, research finds. Hiding privacy information away makes bad business sense, the article states, because websites should improve privacy protection to sharpen their competitive edge.

EPA welcomes Article 29 Group Opinion and calls for an industry code of conduct
European Privacy Association 23rd June 2009
Data protection authorities from across Europe have published an opinion about privacy safeguards and social networking websites. They recommend that websites should place default privacy settings at their highest level, and warn users about the dangers of sharing personal information online.

Typing In an E-Mail Address, and Giving Up Your Friends' as Well
New York Times 19th June 2009
The New York Times introduces readers to a new term - ‘contact scraping' - the sharing of your list of email contacts with a social networking website. Many social networkers may already have said ‘yes' to sharing this information, and the article warns people about what can go wrong when you do.

Be prudent about sharing vacation data online
SF Chronicle 6th June 2009
Posting to Facebook about your holiday or Tweeting as you go, can tip off burglars. Net safety experts warn holidaymakers to take care about who they share personal information with on social networking sites.

EPIC Urges Privacy Protections for Government's Use of Social Media
EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) 3rd June 2009
EPIC has replied to a US Federal Trade Commission call for comments that will help the Commission to develop good practice guidelines for government use of online social media.

Lonely hearts ‘tricked into paying for spam'
Stuff 3rd June 2009
Three companies allegedly sent SMS spam that advertised false dating services, charging $5Au if an individual replied. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has gained a court injunction stopping the companies from operating the business and from allegedly setting up fake profiles on dating and social networking websites.


Resolution on Social Networking
Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) May 2009
The TACD proposal includes strengthened privacy law to protect social networking website users who share their information with third parties that provide games, quizzes, calendars and other applications. When users delete an application, rules should state that the third party must also delete the users' personal information.

Unmasking Social-Network Users
Technology Review 6th May 2009
Websites that sell ‘anonymous' data for marketing and other purposes may need to improve the privacy of the personal information that this data contains.

Big brother watching our lives online
Stuff 4th April 2009
Government departments are trawling social networking websites to catch fraudsters and to check personal information. Marie Shroff, Privacy Commissioner, described social networking websites as ‘no secret playground'. 

MySpace Musings Aren't Private, Appeals Court Rules
Law.Com April 4th 2009
Publish your ‘private' thoughts on public forums and sometimes count the cost! The outcome from a US court case highlights that what you say online can bring your world crashing down around your ears!

Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU
EU, 10th Feb 2009
EU principles that reflect the need for family, teachers, police and government to share responsibility for the safety of children and young people who use social networking websites.