Privacy issues about Facebook’s access to private information and its advertising services prompted critics to ask the company to improve the tool. They urged the company to let users know of other information that it stores about them in its database. The aim is for users to become conscious of how much data they have shared so that they could have more control over it.

As a response to privacy advocates, Facebook just announced that it expanded the coverage of the tool. With the latest enhancement, users will be able to download their social networking activities with more detailed information. Some of the data categories that it will make accessible to users are their previous names, all friend requests made, and IP addresses that they logged on from.

The preceding situations prove that there are different categories of information that are stored by Facebook. These are also the sources of privacy concerns. However, even with Facebook’s new expansion, critics are still not pleased. According to them, this new addition is not enough, implying that more is needed to ensure full user privacy protection. Even so, such a move will help users realize how much and what information they have shared with the world.

The company clarified the extent to which users can use the tool. They cannot use the “Download Your Information” tool to download their friends’ information such as photos, status updates and other data. There have been lots of complaints that were brought against Facebook that pertain to privacy issues while using the site. The newly added categories are another step to attaining the goals of better user protection. Facebook promised that in July of this year, more changes will be rolled out. At present, there are 39 out of 84 information categories that users can download by using the “Download Your Information” tool.

At this time, companies are already working to include privacy into every project that they have. Focus is given on how people’s data is kept safe and to control how much is collected. As part of consumer empowerment, they should have the option to decide what information about them is being shared. This can be made possible if there is a “Do Not Track” mechanism that consumers can use to control the tracking of their activities.

What good would tighter online privacy rules give to consumers? The basis of all these discussions is the fact that there have been many privacy violations. Consumers do not exactly know that they are being tracked online. They also do not know that their personal data is collected and either directly used or sold to other companies. Most of all, consumers do not know the ways that they can protect their privacy.

This is why U.S. regulators are insisting that internet companies should give users an easy-to-use mechanism that really works towards their protection. There are some companies that are positive in their response and would want to cooperate. Others are still holding on to their ground that too much regulation will kill innovation and eventually, the business.

There is a likelihood that a final consensus will be reached among internet companies. The government is driving in the direction of something like giving more respect to consumer privacy. There is nothing wrong with innovation because it promotes creativity and boosts the economy. But it is a different thing to put privacy rights at stake just because consumers do not have the tools to protect themselves. After all, tighter online privacy rules are meant to protect both consumers and the businesses.

It is estimated that Facebook now holds personal information that is worth about $100 billion. This includes the chatting, browsing and buying habits of millions of the social networking fans. Users who never appreciated the value of their personal data willingly uploaded it. Analysts say that the present trend shows personal data being traded among service providers just like any other commodity. Service providers can make thousands of dollars out of the information that users have given up for “free”.

To find out how service providers treated personal data, the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) conducted a research. Among those interviewed, 47% said that they treat it as commercial asset, while 48% admitted that they share data with third parties. Another experiment was done by the agency and they found another funny behavior among internet users. Almost two-thirds of users would prefer to share their personal information than to pay an extra 65 cents for an online purchase.

What does it cost you to simply give up your privacy online in exchange of a few bucks? You must realize that you have to pay a much higher price than you think. Security breach is at all times possible on the part of companies that hold the data. Once your data is exposed to the world, you lose control over it. It can generate about $5,000 a year to companies that “buy” from you at a price less than that of a candy bar. This is the right moment when users must put value on their privacy at a price much higher than 65 cents.

Most service terms and security policies are written by lawyers, and that is why they seem to be meaningless to the lay man. Many users make the extra effort to read the fine print, but they eventually give up due to the lengthy litanies of legalese. The reason of course is clear; because they are hard for the lay man to comprehend. Consequently, as more users disregard the value of understanding those terms and conditions, more privacy concerns appear.

Thinking further, does reading and understanding those terms and conditions promise privacy? Normally, a user gives up some of his or her personal information in exchange for a product. The determining factor would be how much information the user is ready to share. The user’s readiness would also be determined by how that shared data will be used by the data mining company. Many users do not care about their privacy as an exchange for the benefits and convenience that they could get.

The number of mobile apps today is going through the roof, with almost 600,000 sold by Apple alone. There would also be a flood of privacy implications if each of these apps has its own terms of service and privacy policies. Many ugly stories have been told in the past about how personal data is being downloaded by gaming apps. Users are on the losing end because they are haunted by targeted ads and other annoying tricks.

The invasion of new apps is impossible to stop because of their popularity and attractiveness. Many users are expected to be interested in and curious about them. Most users would dive into the sea of apps without even knowing them except for a very few. It goes without saying that the accessibility of these products makes it even easier for users to download them.

Several groups at present are trying to reach out to those less informed users. They try to instruct them on how they could safeguard their privacy. One of the activities that they carry out is how to make users conscious of the information that they share. They are looking for easier ways that users would know what information about them is being gathered. This task is a difficult one to accomplish because at present, less than 50% of apps post their privacy policies. Privacy concerns involving mobile apps need to be resolved fast.

Glassmap has been criticized for alleged user privacy violations. Its “Post to Facebook” option in its registration process was the one that triggered such an unfavorable reaction. If the option was left checked, the Facebook user’s Timeline would show an invitation to join Glassmap. This, critics say, exposes users to more privacy risks, even though they might also be benefited from it. The company said that Facebook told them to eliminate this “feature”, which it did.

The founders encourage real dialog about online privacy instead of wasting productive minds and technology on petty controversies. According to them, there are four important areas that need to be given real attention. These are real-time adaptability, transparency, the right amount of privacy, and user-service symmetry.

Privacy thresholds continuously change as often as the user changes his or her location. Some social networking companies like Facebook have a feature that gives users the option to choose privacy thresholds. However, this does not really offer real-time adaptability. To make it more adaptive, users must be able to change privacy thresholds easily as he or she moves from one location to another, like from home to work. To date, this kind of feature is yet to be experienced.

Some social networking companies are also criticized for lack of transparency. To be transparent means that users clearly see their actual privacy settings. There must be a way to let users see not only which part of their data is shared, but also with whom they are sharing it with. Sharing someone’s data with “friends of friends” needs to be fine tuned. Why? It is because you might know all of your “friends”, but not all of the “friends of friends”.

Giving users the right amount of privacy means better privacy. This right amount is somewhere between sharing everything and sharing nothing. The present state allows users to only choose between these two extremes. This must be sought with transparency and control still being preserved.

At present, developmental efforts are being focused on improving user-to-user relationships. Many privacy issues can be cleared if the user-to-service relationship is also enhanced. To make this happen, services must present back to users the information that they gather. Most importantly, users must know what information was collected from them. Service companies have to be more open to users because they act as user-to-user proxies.

The pressure put on those who still refuse to join the social networking phenomenon is really strong. Whether they are technophobes or privacy advocates, these people are not spared from the draw to conform to what others are interested in. There were those who, for many years have continued to resist, but are now hooked on making more and more “friends” every day. Actually, they admitted that they should have known of the benefits of having a social networking account way earlier.

Some people reject Facebook for several reasons. To some, they contend that being involved in it is just a waste of time. Others find the availability of so many social networking sites out there to be overwhelming. They could not make up their minds as to which one would give the best experience, so their final decision was to not use any one of them.

Others say that privacy issues are the reasons why they would not join Facebook. With the continuing debates about giving people better online protection through the law, many would not try it since the internet has an abundant supply of online predators and scammers. Still others feel that their presence on Facebook strips away their privacy and gives online criminals the chance to victimize them.

Interestingly, one of the fastest growing groups of Facebook enthusiasts is older Americans. Other research results revealed that most of them use Facebook to stay in touch with their children. However, there remain a large number of older Americans who are not at ease with joining the social network. The reason could be that they did not grow up in the information age. They tend to show prejudice against using the benefits of the new communication medium.

Support to “Do Not Track” has been announced by Google and online advertisers. The internet giant made it clear that the support was only for targeted advertisements. Considering this standpoint, people are not very happy, especially those who expected something wider in scope. It can be inferred that Google will still gather consumer data and sell it for a particular purpose.

This issue about tracking and its implications on privacy is not new to almost anyone on the internet. At one time, a privacy analyst and attorney said that the better term would be “do not target”. To use the term “do not track” would denote putting a total ban on consumer data gathering and marketing. However, companies emphasize that this would hurt the industry that depends so much on advertising. It would also deny consumers of their chance to experience better online enjoyment through data tracking.

A group of 500 internet users was surveyed regarding their idea of “Do Not Track”. Interestingly, eighty percent of the respondents believed that with the technology, there will be no more data gathering. In the same manner, they believed that tracking software in their computers would be removed. This is a simple case of misinterpretation because “Do Not Track” is supposed to be intended only for targeted ads.

The consequences of stopping data collection were explained by some spokespersons from different organizations. There were those who said that consumers cannot fully anticipate its effects. One simple effect would be that they could not get special services like personalized content. For example, consumers can only enjoy the privilege of enjoying customized home pages if they share their personal data.

As long as the two ideas do not meet and zero in on something, the battle will just linger. There will be more discussions as to what “Do Not Track” should really mean. Will a point be reached where companies and consumers can find a middle ground? Two factors will play an important role. On the side of companies, they have to be open and honest about how they would use gathered data. On the consumers’ side, they should maintain an open mind regarding the implications of technology on their privacy.

In the said proposal, different entities that are related to online activities have been called to work as one. The government now calls on those internet companies, law enforcement agencies, privacy groups, and state attorneys general. They are encouraged to forget their individual interests for a while and to collaborate. They are given a common objective – to come up with voluntary standards that would protect consumer data to the highest degree.

There are apprehensions that the Obama privacy plan could threaten the internet. Privacy advocates hope that this is going to be a good one. Others say that the United States will soon have a privacy law that, hopefully, is one that supports innovation and gives more user protection.

According to the framework of the proposed law, it consists of four parts. These are the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, a multi-stakeholder process, an adequate enforcement model, and a commitment to strengthen interoperability.

There are specific provisions in the Bill of Rights framework. These are individual control, transparency, respect for context, security, access and accuracy, focused collection, and accountability. Each of these provisions gives consumers better control over their different shared data. The multi-stakeholder process looks into how the privacy law can be applied in the business sector. Interoperability deals with how it can be mutually recognized and enforced by other countries.

A researcher at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University has expressed his fear over the possible consequences of the law. He pointed out the possibility that many companies would be hurt in terms of cost. Behavioral advertising is one of the most effective methods of getting revenues for them. Part of the profit derived from behavioral tracking and data collection is used to provide free internet services such as web-based email and social networking. These are the services which many ordinary consumers use every day. With regulation, there is likelihood that these services would no longer be free.

On the part of consumers, they have to take more responsibility over what they do online. Privacy issues could be solved if consumers would maintain “cleanliness” in the internet. In this aspect, the Obama administration should give more importance on protecting consumers by first educating them. This might have been overlooked in the said privacy plan.

On March 1, 2012, Google’s new privacy policy will go into effect. This new policy replaces all other privacy policies that were in place on all of the different Google products and services. It will affect all information stored on every Google account you may have. Also included is all information stored after the March 1st implementation date.

As of now, your Google Web History stores a record of every site you visit and every search you make. In the past, the Web History was a separate entity from all other areas of Google. Now, under the new privacy policy, all Google services will be combined. Your searches tell a pretty complete story about you, including your hometown, health concerns, age, sexual orientation and more, so you really should keep it all private.

In order to stop Google from combining your Web History with your Google + or YouTube activities, you must get rid of all searches that are in your Web History. Also, you need to stop activity from appearing on your Web History in the future.

If you value your privacy, follow these steps to clear and pause your Web History:

Sign in to your Google account.

Then, go to https://www.google.com/history

Click on the “Remove all Web History” button.

The last step is to click on “OK”.

When you remove the information from your Web History, you are also pausing it. Until you enable this again, your Web History will remain paused.

Google keeps all information in your active Web History for an unspecified time period. But, if you pause your Web History, your information will be cleared in about 18 months. Pausing, or disabling, the Web History will stop the search results that are generated specifically for you. The EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) offers advice and suggestions on how you can limit the quantity of information Google keeps on you in its guide, Six Tips to Protect Your Search Privacy .

If you are like most people, you have several Google accounts. If this is the case, you need to remove the Web History, following the above steps, for each account. Just keep in mind that removing and pausing your Web History will not prevent Google from gathering your information for internal use. Also, if any information is requested by a law enforcement agency, Google must supply it.

One of the more notable features of Timeline is “Maps”. This feature takes the data from every user’s account and displays all photos, lists events and even places they go on their wall “map”. This means that anyone on your friends lists will know where you travel to or what you are doing on any given day and time. The biggest problem with this feature is that the user has no choice when it comes to accepting it.

Facebook’s Privacy Policy states: “We receive data from the computer, mobile phone or other device you use to access Facebook. This may include your IP address, location, the type of browser you use, or the pages you visit.” What this means is that no matter where you go or what you do, Facebook is watching and will broadcast it all.

If you have ever updated your hometown, or work location, Facebook already has that information and will use it to create your “map”. Also, if a friend takes a picture of you from a mobile phone with the GPS feature on, and uploads it to Facebook, you will be tagged to that location.

Even your music playlists will be sent to Facebook’s Timeline through Spotify. Everything you listen to will be posted for everyone to see. So many users felt uncomfortable with this, that Spotify has just added an option for private listening, which will block the Facebook sharing. But, beware…if you restart the app, or don’t use it very often, you will have to go back to your settings and choose the private listening option again.

Have you ever been sent an “Invite” to an event that you have to RSVP to on Facebook? Well, every time you click on “Attending”, your plans will be made public knowledge. Even when you click “Like” for a particular product, that information is sent to the company. The company, in turn, tags your friends to try to get them to click “Like” also, noting that you and any other friends “Like” them.

Your reading habits also aren’t safe from public broadcast. When you see a friend’s link to an article that looks interesting and you click on it, many times you will be asked for permission to allow the app to access your information. Most of us do this without giving it much thought. The problem here is that Facebook now knows what articles you’re looking at and will share them on your wall. You will not have a choice since you already agreed to allow your information to be shared.

All of this is pretty frightening stuff. People knowing where you are, where you’re going and what you’re doing brings “Big Brother” to mind. When Timeline becomes available to you, take the time to read ALL of the Privacy Policy. Make sure you thoroughly go over your privacy options and set your preferences as soon as possible. It would also help if you think long and hard before clicking “Like”.

Your privacy is your most important asset. Protect it in any way you can.