• San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, May 16, 2011 12:16 PM

Going against the wishes of Silicon Valley, California is considering forcing socials networks (i.e., Facebook) to change their privacy protection policies. Under the proposal, social-networking sites would have to let users establish their privacy settings when they first register to join the site, rather than after they join, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

"Sites would also have to set defaults to private so that users would choose which information is public," it writes. Currently, Facebook's default settings make certain information available to everyone online after a user registers, unless the user changes those privacy settings. What's more, top Facebook executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, have been encouraging a culture of openness and information sharing. As such, according to SFGate.com, Facebook is working in "stealth mode" to oppose the bill.

The legislation would require that privacy controls be explained in "plain language." Willful violations of the law would result in a $10,000 fine for each violation.

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