Like Groundhog Day and taxes, it's becoming an annual (if not semi-annual) ritual: Facebook quietly introduces a new product or service with sweeping implications for customer privacy;
people finally notice; controversy ensues; everyone forgets it ever happened.
The most recent controversy is taking place in Europe, and it concerns Facebook's use of facial
recognition technology to help categorize and organize member photos. The new feature, which went live in the U.S. in December, was quietly activated for overseas users earlier this month, and it
has generated a predictable backlash. In an interview with The Register, British security expert Graham Cluely clued Facebook in: "Many people feel distinctly uncomfortable about a site like
Facebook learning what they look like, and using that information without their permission."
Cluely also drew Facebook's attention, for what must be the millionth time, to the
fact that its security settings are kind of obscure: "Most Facebook users still don't know how to set their privacy options safely, finding the whole system confusing. It's even harder
though to keep control when Facebook changes the settings without your knowledge." He concluded: "The onus should not be on Facebook users having to 'opt-out' of the facial
recognition feature, but instead on users having to ‘opt-in'."
Amen! Of course, the unfortunate fact is that Facebook counts on its users' ignorance and apathy
(and probably leaves its security settings a bit byzantine) in order to get traction for its new services. But even if the company isn't really concerned about user privacy, there are better
ways to go about introducing new capabilities like the facial recognition and tagging feature. Facebook could dispel some of the criticism with a more transparent approach -- and without necessarily
having to make the new service opt-in. For example, how about simply sending a clearly labeled message to all users advising them of the new feature and including a link to opt out?