To quit or not to quit: The online privacy debate

Last month, the GH Spin reported that Facebook is allowing select third-party Web sites the ability to access and store users’ personal information. But now, Facebook has taken these privacy settings (or, lack of) further. Most of your personal profile information, including where you work, what music you like, and where you went to school, is now made public by default. Some of your information is shared.

Debates over these changes are swirling. A group of computer engineers started an online petition to encourage people to quit Facebook on May 31 to protest the privacy changes. Nearly 3,000 people have committed to canceling their profiles.

There is even a Facebook page dedicated to “Quit Facebook Day.” The GH Spin finds it ironic that these Facebook-haters can’t help but use said networking site to organize more haters.

Facebook first became popular as a safer, more private alternative to MySpace. This is still the case, as long as you know how to change your privacy settings. Click here to learn how.

This conversation about privacy on social networking sites will continue, especially if Congress and the Federal Trade Commission try to regulate these sites. Check back with the GH Spin for updates on this unprecedented debate.