It wouldn’t be a product launch at Facebook if it wasn’t followed by public-interest groups lashing out at what they see as loose privacy settings. And so it was with the debut of Places, Facebook’s new location-based service. But Facebook, eager to avoid the lather-rinse-repeat cycle that has defined its many controversies in the privacy arena, has gone on the offensive, rebutting the criticism of the ACLU point by point.
Then the company took the rare step of convening a public event the day after the launch of Places to field questions about the privacy and security concerns associated with its location-based service. eSecurity Planet has the latest on Facebook’s defense of the privacy features in the Places product.
When Facebook launched its Places location product this week, the Northern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wasted no time in denouncing the privacy controls of the new feature.
Now, Facebook is firing back at the organization, rebutting the ACLU’s criticism point by point, and countering that the company took pains to ingrain significant and intuitive privacy controls into Places.