January 4, 2008
Don’t Worry About Big Companies & Your Privacy, Worry About Those “Friends”
A squabble between geek-blogger Robert Scoble and Facebook provides a glimpse into a future where we don’t have to worry about big companies knowing about our personal data because everyone we know already knows it.
Scoble was testing a system for the Plaxo contact website that sucks up the details of his friends he’s made on Facebook. The big issue is whethe the data we provide there is his to take? Jeff Jarvis comments:
I want Facebook to protect my email address. I don’t want Scoble downloading it and giving it over to Plaxo, a brand and company I will never, never trust and would never choose to do business with or hand data to on my own.
Scoble got banned from Facebook but with all problems about protecting privacy, we have to remember that technology will always overcome any barriers placed before it. This episode could be the first of many that highlight the growing ease that your contacts (or Facebook ‘friends’) will have to harvest your data right down to your pokes. Even your wife could pull down your data too!
More background discussion can be found at the Guardian.
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