Facebook punished for privacy shortcomings.

• Position: SOCIAL MEDIA

In response to what it says was Facebook's failure to protect its users' privacy, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a settlement that requires the social media giant to undergo independent privacy audits every two years for the next 20 years.

The federal government had accused Facebook of engaging in "unfair and deceptive" practices related to how it handled users' sensitive information in December 2009. Specifically, the FTC said the company--without warning users or gaining consent--made public some information that users deemed to be private on their Facebook pages, The New York Times reported.

The FTC leveled eight complaints against Facebook, including that it was:

* Allowing advertisers to collect personally identifiable information when a user clicked on an ad on his or her Facebook page

* Sharing user information with outside application developers, despite telling users otherwise. And even after a Facebook user deleted an account, the FTC said, the company still allowed access to photos and videos.

The FTC order requires Facebook to obtain its users' "affirmative express consent" before it can override their own privacy settings, The Times said. For example, if a user designates certain content to be shared only with "friends," Facebook cannot allow that content to be distributed more widely without first obtaining the user's permission.

David Vladeck, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection, told The Times that Facebook must tell its users how personal data will be shared even with new products and services that it introduces over the next two decades.

The FTC did not levy fines against Facebook or accuse it of intentionally breaking the law, The Times said. However, if the social media behemoth violates the agreement in the future, it is subject to a penalty of $16,000 a day for each count.

Meanwhile, the European Commission (EC) introduced a directive in January aimed at Facebook that will ban targeted advertising unless users specifically consent to it.

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According to The Edmonton Journal, the directive will stop Facebook from "eavesdropping" on users' activities and private details--political opinions, sexuality, religious beliefs, even long-deleted messages and chats--and making it available to advertisers.

When users join Facebook, they agree to a 4,000-word contract that allows the company to use their information as it sees fit. But the large amount of information...