• GigaOm, Thursday, September 6, 2007 10:45 AM

In opening up its pages to the public, Facebook may have taken one step too many, that is, invading privacy. Last night, Facebook launched a "public listing search," allowing non-members to search for anyone on the network. The company assures that they only get to see a minimal listing of that person's profile. The problem is that Facebook is choosing what information to make publicly available. They may make it customizable, but what about those members who missed the memo that their info was going public?

These public profiles will also be available to the search crawlers of Google, Yahoo, Ask, etc. in about a month -- as if it weren't bad enough that people could "Google" you. In effect, Facebook is turning into a quasi-White Pages for the Web.

Inevitably, searchers who want to find out more information about a person will be compelled to sign up for Facebook. Indeed, this could be a huge growth engine for the company, but a worrisome new direction for consumers. This is seen as another small step in the overall erosion of personal privacy, thanks to the ever growing popularity of the social networks.

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