In California, a state senator is pushing a bill that will require Facebook to remove almost all identifying information about users and upon request by a parent for those under the age of 18, with a penalty of up to $10,000 for each "willful and knowing" violation.
"The Social Networking Privacy Act," (SB 242) as envisioned by a Democrat based in the Bay Area's San Leandro, California state senate majority leader Ellen Corbett, aims to raise Facebook's default privacy settings to a maximum standard in which no information about a registered user other than where they live and name is allowed without the user's agreement.
While the bill doesn't cite Facebook specifically, it does mention "a social networking Internet Web site," which definitely applies to Facebook. And in this analysis of the bill, Facebook and MySpace are specifically tagged.
And Facebook has already responded to this proposal: "This legislation is a serious threat both to Facebook’s business in California," said spokesman Andrew Noyes, in this TechCrunch article. And in the analysis, TechNet is also on the record as being in opposition to the bill:
This bill would do significant damage to California's technology sector by "drastically limiting] social networking sites' growth potential in California by imposing additional operating costs and raising barriers to consumer participation in social networking services, all while exposing those services to massive and unwarranted civil liability and in turn, creating significant confusion and uncertainty for investors, businesses and consumers.
SB 242 would require sites like Facebook to post privacy settings "in a conspicuous place and an easy-to-use format" and would hold up registration for new users until they select those settings.
Introduced Feb. 9, the bill has since been amended, to its current provisions that extend the removal of "personal identifying information" to any registered user upon his or her request, within 48 hours. And in the case of users under the age of 18, parents who want that information removed for their child/children can also make that request.
Currently, Facebook profiles can display all kinds of information besides city of residence and name, if a user fills in the blanks: birthdate, schools attended, degrees received, place of work, email, phone numbers, hometown and any other information a user wishes to broadcast about himself/herself.
Corbett explains why this bill is needed:
Computers systems and the Internet have brought consumers many conveniences. Sites like Facebook and Twitter provide users with a place to share personal information with friends, family, and the public - an activity that's proven to be hugely compelling to Internet users. In response to the demand, technology is evolving to encourage the disclosure of information that was formerly discreet (like location), and to enable the sharing of information even when not sitting in front of a traditional computer (like from mobile phones).
But these innovative methods of information sharing can pose a serious threat to our privacy and security. There are countless privacy pitfalls when our personal identifying information is indiscriminately posted, indefinitely stored, and quietly collected and analyzed by marketers, and identity thieves.
Current law does not require social networking websites to provide a mechanism for users to adjust their privacy settings, or remove their personal identifying information; nor does it govern the disclosure of users' personal information to third parties and the public.
The bill is on its way to the state senate, after a 3-2 vote in senate committee.
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