Canada's Privacy Commissioner is investigating Facebook’s ubiquitous “Like” button after it received an unidentified complaint that the feature violates privacy rights.
“We have a complaint about the increasing usage of the “Like” button. This is one of a handful of ongoing issues we have with Facebook,” Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said in an interview.
Michael Richter, Facebook’s chief privacy counsel, said in an e-mail that he “is confident we will resolve any outstanding concerns” with the regulator.
The Palo Alto, Calif.-based social network has drawn criticism from privacy regulators and politicians in Canada and other countries for rolling out innovations with limited or confusing privacy protections.
It sparked additional controversy in April when it offered its “Like” button feature to outside websites. Prior to the change, the button was only available for Facebook users who clicked the button to approve and share their opinions with friends about posted photos, videos or other information.
When other websites offered the button, unwitting users saw their likes exposed or promoted on media, entertainment or retail websites that offered the button. Today, Facebook estimates more than 350,000 websites have installed the “Like” feature. The independent technology blog All Facebook estimates that the “Like” button is clicked nearly 65 million times a day.
“There is a lot of uncertainty about the consequences of the ‘Like’ button,” said David Fewer, an Ottawa University law professor and Internet advocate. “You don’t know what is going to happen to the information or how it is being stored.”
Ms. Stoddart revealed the probe shortly after the watchdog announced Wednesday that it had concluded a 2008 investigation into allegations that Facebook was improperly allowing outsiders access to personal photos, information and other data posted by users on the popular social utility. The company recently tightened privacy settings so that users could better shield private information from strangers, particularly software developers, who were allowed to scrape out personal information from the site.
Despite the improvements, Ms. Stoddart said Facebook is one of several rapidly growing and evolving Internet giants that are “presenting ongoing challenges” to privacy regulators around the globe.
Ms. Stoddart said the decision to close the 2008 investigation is not a “blanket endorsement” of Facebook, because as the social network has evolved, new privacy issues have emerged. “We do have other ongoing investigations,” she said.
In his statement, Facebook’s Mr. Richter said “giving people control over their information has always been a priority for Facebook.” He said the company has “the same goal of ensuring that everyone, including the more than 15 million people using Facebook in Canada, have control over their information.
