Facebook Facing More Privacy Blowback

Matt McKeon/MattMcKeon.com

This graph representing who can see your personal information from Facebook is part of a time-lapse graphic by Matt McKeon on a blog post called The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook.

Facebook is in the news this week as the social networking company faces criticism from privacy advocates, members of Congress and some of its users over how much personal information the company shares with other companies and the rest of the Web.

In this week's All Tech Considered, we discuss the company, which has more than 400 million users and is the dominant U.S.-based social network.

Some info relevant to the segment:

• More related to the graphic at the top of this post from Matt McKeon's excellent blog post, "The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook."
• Word this morning was that Facebook had hired former FTC chairman Tim Muris, but the company is denying he has joined the company. He may be consulting on privacy issues instead, Venture Beat reports.
• One of the stories from Wired that has many worried about Facebook privacy.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center is one of 14 privacy and consumer protection agencies that has filed a complaint with the FTC against Facebook. You can read the 38-page complaint in this file (PDF).
• Facebook and its complicated relationship to privacy explained.
• Remember when some Senators got upset about Facebook's Open Graph announcement?
• CNET outlines some dangers of using Facebook you may not have considered with the help of security expert Joan Goodchild.
• Some tips from The Consumerist and Al Franken on changing your privacy settings on Facebook.
• What Facebook itself says about its own privacy policies.