Another shot from the front.
Feeling, like I've never wanted my pillow so badly,
habit47
]]>The networking site has rapidly acquired millions of users. But soon the lawyers could be logging on too
Ashley Hurst
Monday July 2, 2007
The Guardian
With more than 21 million users worldwide and 100,000 new users each week, the social networking website Facebook has rapidly entered the mainstream. But with its phenomenal growth comes an increasing threat to privacy.
Not so long ago the site was the domain of computer geeks and students, but now it is attracting famous members such as Sienna Miller and Prince William. Even journalists and commentators such as Jonathan Dimbleby and Andrew Neil have signed up.
The website has a sophisticated mechanism that allows its members to choose the extent to which users can access their personal profile, photographs, list of friends, and their "wall" (a type of discussion forum that allows friends to post messages on each other's page). It even allows users to block specific individuals from knowing that they are a member of Facebook at all.
However, despite the privacy controls, many users post photographs of their private parties and holidays, which may include pictures of acquaintances who have no wish to be on public display in this way. Users also often post abusive and sometimes defamatory material on the walls of other users.
At the same time, the privacy law continues to develop. The Court of Appeal recently upheld an award of damages to Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt after a book by a former employee, Niema Ash, revealed details of McKennitt's private life. It is the latest in a string of important decisions that have given rise to a new law of privacy which celebrities and other high-profile individuals are seizing upon with relish. In light of these developments, individuals who find their images posted on Facebook may well have a claim.
Threatening
Anyone wishing to take out a complaint may consider whether to bring the claim against Facebook or against one or more users. However, at least in Europe, Facebook may be able to avail itself of a defence under e-commerce legislation if it can show that it is simply hosting the information, and that it acted quickly on any complaint. Individual users may therefore find themselves being held responsible.
When signing up to Facebook, users agree not to "upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available any content that [Facebook] deems to be harmful, threatening, unlawful, defamatory, infringing, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable". A comprehensive list, which many users are ignoring.
In practice, libellous and private material is removed only after a complaint has been made either to the administrators of the website or the offending user. This means that private and offensive photographs, which can easily be shared with other users of Facebook, could be quickly spread before the victim has had a chance to do anything about it. Although users of Facebook can edit their own privacy settings, they have no control of who their "friends" are sharing information and photographs with.
And so, despite Facebook's privacy policy, the website still poses an enormous risk to privacy. Some may say that users waive their privacy rights. But this all depends on the extent to which they have applied their privacy settings and says nothing of the many people featured on Facebook who are not signed up. Those people might want to register quickly to see what their friends and foes are up to behind their backs.
ยท Ashley Hurst is a member of the media litigation team at Olswang
Feeling, watched,
Another shot from the front.
Feeling, like I've never wanted my pillow so badly,
habit47
]]>How about employers the world over adopt this policy:
If it's your birthday, you get the day off.
It makes sense. I mean, you don't have to work on birthdays 1-6, so, in keeping with tradition, surely you should get birthdays off for the rest of your life? It'll be like your own personal holiday. You can sleep late, spoil yourself, plan to meet your friends wherever at the end of their working day and generally act like a child all day.
Who's with me?
Feeling, like my birthday is almost over and I had to work 8 hours of it,
]]>