Madhavi Tumkur
Oct 19, 2010

Facebook apologises for breach of online privacy

GLOBAL - In another blow to the privacy settings of the social networking site, Facebook has been accused of relaying personal information such as names, and in some instances friends' names, to advertisers and internet tracking companies.

Facebook apologises for breach of online privacy

While the company stated that the Facebook user ID may have been inadvertently shared via a browser or an application, it assured its users in a public statement that the company would "introduce new technology to contain the problem".

According to Gregory Birge, managing director of F5 Digital Consulting, digital databases have always been at risk and a company must protect this information. “It is like a big bank which must firstly protect its consumer information,” says Birge. “Facebook is not a database. It is an interaction platform for friends. They should ideally not sell data. However, if they do plan to do so, it has to be protected, just like a bank would do.”

Large companies such as Sony or Amex who hire hackers to protect their own codes, exemplify that online information by and large is unsafe and open to hackers.

Birge says that while it is easy to point fingers at Facebook and suggest what they should have done and why it has happened, it is for us all to take this cue to wake up to the fact that data must be encrypted for internet transfer and safeguard against hackers. “While it is unfortunate, Facebook must ensure that it has a much tighter security measure because of its large database,” Birge suggests.

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

44 minutes ago

Agency of the Year 2024: Greater China winners

Dentsu clinched key creative awards, Starcom shone in digital innovation, and Zenith solidified its media grip at the 2024 Greater China Agency of the Year Awards. See all the winners here.

9 hours ago

Campaign expands its coverage into Indonesia

The launch of its Bahasa Indonesia language publication bolsters Campaign’s global expansion, following new German and Canadian editions launched earlier this year.

11 hours ago

Spikes Asia 2025: In conversation with PR jury ...

As the CEO of MSL APAC and the Publicis Groupe global lead on Samsung, Key discusses the role of PR in brand success and gives advice to agencies submitting work for Spikes Asia.

13 hours ago

Creative Minds: Yuchien Wang on the path from ...

The copywriter and brand strategist had originally set out to be a classically trained cellist, even winning a place at the music academy in Taipei. But copywriting eventually won her heart.