Facebook vs. Canada. It’s about to get ugly.

It looks as though Facebook might face a court appearance before a federal judge in Canada real soon.

This ongoing battle has to do with Facebook’s privacy settings. Canada’s privacy commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, is currently drawing up a possible new investigation into Facebook for violations against Canada’s private-sector privacy act.

Spokeswoman Anne-Marie Hayden states:

“Although they’ve done some things right, in a few areas, they seem to have gone in the opposite direction, and that’s been disappointing. We’re waiting for Facebook to honor its commitments, but if we do see new violations of the law, we may launch our own investigation, which could be very narrowly scoped.”

The Vancouver Sun article then goes on to state how, while there are privacy restrictions that you can adjust in your user settings, they are quite laborious and difficult to understand fully. Users are asking Facebook to make this easier.

I would have to agree with this. I’ve tried to edit my personal Facebook settings and I like to think I’m somewhat intelligent (yes.. feel free to insert a laugh here) and somewhat computer savvy, (again, insert your laugh here) yet I also had trouble with it.

Facebook looks to be up against some heavy hitters as technology lawyer, David Fewer,  who is the director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. He will be one of the people fighting for Canadian privacy rights against the technology giant.

Fewer says: “My guess is by September, we’re in Federal Court and its about time, too.”

It seems as though most Canadians, myself included, are curious as to where all their information is going. It’s common knowledge that Facebook shares your information with companies that create applications, but as much as my info has been passed out, when it comes down to it, it’s my own fault.

If you don’t want your information shared publicly, then don’t sign up for Facebook.

Does this mean Facebook might get shut down in Canada? I really don’t see that happening as I can’t even imagine the uproar it would cause. I’ve got numerous photography jobs because of networking on Facebook so it’s a very useful tool for myself.

Has anyone ever had an issue with their information being shared? Let me know in the comments.

Source: Vancouver Sun