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-<!--#set var="title" value="On Facebook, Google+, and Ethical Social Networking" -->
-<!--#include virtual="../includes/header.html" -->
-<h2>On Facebook, Google+, and Ethical Social Networking</h2>
-<p>
-	TO COME: An introduction and a section on Google+.
-</p>
-<h3>The Ethics of Facebook</h3>
-<p>
-	Facebook shares their users' personal information with third parties.
-	They use mere Web site design changes as an excuse to revert users'
-	privacy settings to unsafe defaults.  Their social platform has huge
-	security holes that allow personal information to be leaked.  One such
-	hole made some users' private chats accessible to all of their contacts.
-	Facebook also exposes users to malware and identity theft. [1] They
-	make it easy for application developers to collect personal information.
-	[2] The Wall Street Journal found that these application developers
-	collect this personal information, link it with other information, and
-	sell it to others. [3]
-</p>
-<p>
-	In general, Facebook has always operated on an opt-out basis.  In some
-	cases, you can actually disable third-party access to your information.
-	But you must always be on the lookout for new "features" or changes to
-	privacy settings.  Facebook always changes the way it collects
-	information, and it catches many people unaware.  But it's impossible to
-	opt out of things you don't even know about.  Recently, Facebook added a
-	feature they call "tag suggestions".  If you have photos on your
-	profile, Facebook can pick out people's faces and suggest names for
-	them.  This may sound useful, but it's the tip of an almost nightmarish
-	ethics iceberg in information systems.  Facebook uses facial recognition
-	software to make this work; they scan already-tagged photos and record
-	distinguishing facial features and then find photos with similar faces
-	and give them names.  They maintain a database of people's facial
-	features.  They never notified anyone about this database.  They never
-	asked users if they could record this information.  Instead, of course,
-	they made it an opt-out feature; you have to explicitly disable this
-	hidden feature to keep your facial information out of the database.
-	This new feature has even sparked an investigation by the European
-	Union. [4][5] But just imagine what Facebook could do with this
-	information (and consider their track record with personal information).
-	I suspect they may soon start selling facial data to other companies,
-	law enforcement agencies, and oppressive governments (I've heard that
-	the U.K. once used video camera footage to locate and arrest protesters,
-	so imagine what they could do with facial data).
-</p>
-<p>
-	Basically, Facebook is a business.  And you are not their customer.  You
-	are their product.  They are, in fact, selling their products to
-	advertisers.  That is, they use a person's face (without getting
-	permission and without paying anything) to advertise things to that
-	person's friends.  Claim to like something, and you've given a product
-	endorsement at a price advertising agencies would love. [6]
-</p>
-<p>
-	And they also seem to like selling out their users to governments and
-	limiting what their users can read and say.  After their recent
-	collaboration with Chinese partners, the Facebook platform was allowed
-	into China under political censorship.  At the time, Facebook lobbyist
-	Adam Conner remarked, "we're allowing too much, maybe, free speech".
-	[7][8] The Associated Press reported last month that Facebook sold out
-	hundreds of peaceful pro-Palestinian activists who had been organizing
-	events through the social platform.  Facebook allowed governments to
-	track its users' activities.  As a result, more than 300 peaceful
-	activists were added to airline terrorism watch lists and denied the
-	right to leave their countries.  International air travel was disrupted
-	as planes from Geneva and Italy were diverted for security inspections.
-	310 people were detained after landing in Israel on their way to stand
-	with Palestinians in a peaceful mission of solidarity and fact-finding.
-	[9][10] Imagine what might have happened if Facebook (and widespread
-	publicly-accessible computer networks for that matter) existed during
-	the civil rights movement.  Would there be racial equality in the United
-	States today?  Or would peaceful protesters organizing events have been
-	sold out and arrested before they could even meet?
-</p>
-<p>
-	But it seems you don't even have to use Facebook to get tracked by
-	Facebook.  Everyone who sees a "Like" button somewhere on the Web (as
-	I'm sure you have) can be tracked.  Facebook has the ability to map out
-	the browsing behavior of a massive number (a number that grows by tens
-	of millions each month) of Web users, even those who don't use Facebook.
-	[11] Again, imagine what they could do with such vast amounts of
-	information.
-</p>
-<p>
-	Things like these gaping holes in privacy, devious information
-	collection practices, abuse of users, censorship, and tracking inspired
-	Matt Lee, campaigns manager, and John Sullivan, executive director, of
-	the Free Software Foundation to write about Facebook's poor track record
-	with privacy and create rather amusing "Dislike" and "not f'd" buttons. [12]
-</p>
-<h3>Ethical Social Networking</h3>
-<p>
-	TODO: Move characteristic four into a note somewhere, as it is rare for a
-	service provider to attempt to claim copyright on user-submitted works.
-	Also, refer to the Franklin Street Statement.
-</p>
-<p>
-	But social networking is not inherently evil.  You can connect with old
-	friends and discover new ones without sacrificing privacy, security,
-	autonomy, and freedom.  You just have to be careful about the platforms
-	you use.  I've identified four basic characteristics that a social
-	networking platform must have for it to be an ethical one that doesn't
-	abuse its users.  The first two characteristics are universal; all
-	viable platforms, whether running on your own computer or hosted by a
-	service provider, must have these.  The last two apply only if you
-	choose to use a platform that is run by someone else as a service.
-</p>
-<ol>
-	<li>
-		Software freedom.  You must be free to use the software that powers
-		the social networking platform on your own computer without
-		restrictions.  You must be free to inspect the software and modify
-		it.  You must be free to share the software with others, with or
-		without modifications.  With these freedoms, you have full control
-		over your social networking and you can decide who has access to
-		which personal information.  Without these freedoms, only the
-		developer can decide what the software does, and you may not even
-		be allowed to know what it does to you.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Federation.  You must be able to run the software on your own
-		computer and still be able to communicate with other people using
-		other copies of the software.  If the software has protocols for
-		communication between users across multiple installations, then the
-		software is federated.  For example, e-mail is federated; you can
-		run your own mail server and still send mail to other people who
-		use other servers.  This is because all standards-compliant mail
-		servers speak the same protocol.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Privacy.  If you choose to use a social networking service run by
-		someone else, the service must offer a clear and agreeable privacy
-		policy to which the service provider must strictly adhere.  The
-		service provider must not be allowed to give your personal
-		information to third parties without your consent (unless required
-		by law) or use your information in ways that threaten your privacy
-		and autonomy.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		No claims of copyright.  The service provider must agree that your
-		personal information is yours, not theirs.  There must not be any
-		claims of copyright on the information you provide.  The provider
-		may, however, require you to license such information to them
-		and/or to others for it to be published on the service; in this
-		case, you should make sure you agree with the license terms before
-		using the service.
-	</li>
-</ol>
-<p>
-	Let's look at some social networking platforms and see how they adhere
-	to these criteria.  We'll start with Facebook.  Facebook fails criterion
-	one; you cannot run, inspect, modify, or share the software that powers
-	Facebook.  This means it also fails criterion two; it is inherently not
-	federated because you cannot run it on your own computer.  Since
-	Facebook is not federated and you're stuck with the hosted service,
-	criteria three and four apply.  Facebook has a terrible track record
-	with privacy and therefore fails criterion three.  According to their
-	terms of service, you retain copyright on your information and give
-	Facebook "a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free,
-	worldwide license to use" your information. [13] This is standard
-	licensing language that allows Facebook to publish information you
-	submit, and with these terms Facebook seems to pass criterion four.
-	(I've heard that Facebook claims or used to claim copyright on your
-	information, but seeing these terms of service I'll give Facebook the
-	benefit of the doubt here.)  Facebook fails three out of the four
-	criteria, and we can conclude that Facebook is an unethical social
-	networking platform.
-</p>
-<p>	
-	Next we'll evaluate Twitter.  Again, it fails criterion one since you
-	cannot run, inspect, modify, or share the software.  And again it fails
-	criterion two since you cannot run the software on your own computer.
-	Twitter has a clear privacy policy that describes what information is
-	made public, what information you may optionally provide, what
-	information is collected in logs, and what information is to be kept
-	private except under certain circumstances. [14] I don't know of any
-	occasion on which Twitter has failed to adhere to this policy, so if you
-	agree with this policy then Twitter passes criterion three.  Twitter's
-	terms of service explicitly leave you with the rights to your
-	information, but you must agree to grant Twitter "a worldwide,
-	non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to
-	use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display
-	and distribute [your information] in any and all media or distribution
-	methods (now known or later developed)". [15] Again this is standard
-	licensing language that allows Twitter to publish the information you
-	post, and I conclude that with these terms Twitter passes the fourth
-	criterion.  In summary, Twitter passes two out of the four criteria;
-	it's not completely ethical since it leaves you without important
-	freedoms and at the mercy of a single centralized provider, but it seems
-	it's not as bad as Facebook is in terms of privacy.
-</p>
-<p>	
-	Next up is Identi.ca.  Identi.ca is an instance of StatusNet, a free
-	software microblogging platform that is similar in function to Twitter.
-	StatusNet is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License,
-	which requires that all users, including those who use the software over
-	a network, have all of the necessary freedoms with the software.  With
-	this license, StatusNet, and therefore Identi.ca, pass criterion one
-	beautifully.  StatusNet implements the OStatus protocol, which allows
-	users of other installations of StatusNet (or even other software such
-	as GNU Social) to communicate seamlessly.  With this, StatusNet and GNU
-	Social (and instances of the software such as Identi.ca) are federated
-	and pass criterion two.  If you choose to use Identi.ca instead of
-	running StatusNet or GNU Social on your own computer, then criteria
-	three and four apply.  Identi.ca has a very clear privacy policy that
-	describes what information is made public, what information remains
-	private, and how information may be used by Identi.ca, by users, and by
-	other instances of StatusNet and GNU Social. [16] With this, Identi.ca
-	passes criterion three.  Identi.ca's terms of service make no claims to
-	copyright on your information.  The terms require that you grant
-	Identi.ca "a world-wide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to
-	reproduce, modify, adapt and publish the Content solely for the purpose
-	of displaying, distributing and promoting your notice stream".  They
-	also require that you "grant all readers the right to use, re-use,
-	modify and/or re-distribute the Content under the terms of the Creative
-	Commons Attribution 3.0 [Public License]". [17] This license allows
-	readers to share your notices, to modify your notices, and to
-	incorporate your notices in larger works, as long as they give you
-	credit for your words and do not misrepresent you.  These are agreeable
-	terms that leave you in control of your information and allow the world
-	to share and build upon your work, so we can conclude that Identi.ca
-	passes criterion four.  Identi.ca, which runs the free social networking
-	platform StatusNet, passes all four criteria.  It is an ethical platform
-	and service that protects your privacy, autonomy, and freedom.  Because
-	of this, I myself use Identi.ca. [18] Since the software is free, before
-	registering I checked the source code to make sure that my password
-	would be stored securely.  And since the software is federated, I
-	reserve the right, especially if Identi.ca in the future ever fails
-	criteria three and four or ceases to exist, to move to my own
-	self-hosted instance of the software without losing contact with other
-	users.
-</p>
-<p>	
-	These three cases are just examples of popular platforms.  There are of
-	course many others.  Google recently opened up their new platform,
-	Google+, which so far is neither free nor federated.  The Diaspora
-	project began in response to outrage over privacy on Facebook; Diaspora
-	itself is free and federated, and there are hosted Diaspora services
-	with decent privacy policies.  Finally, I don't claim that these
-	criteria are perfect; they are merely the result of observations I've
-	made.  A similar set of criteria for "freedom in the 'cloud'" has
-	recently been offered by Georg Greve, founder of the Free Software
-	Foundation Europe. [19]
-</p>
-<h3>References:</h3>
-<ol>
-	<li>
-		"Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook".  <span class="cite-title">CBS News</span>.  CBS Interactive
-		Inc.  May 11, 2010.
-		<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/0/08/earlyshow/saturday/main6469373.shtml">&lt;http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/0/08/earlyshow/saturday/main6469373.shtml&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Barnett, Emma.  "Your data is Facebook's most valuable asset".
-		<span class="cite-title">The Telegraph</span>.  Telegraph Media Group Limited.  January 17,
-		2011.
-		<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8264210/Your-data-is-Facebooks-most-valuable-asset.html">&lt;http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8264210/Your-data-is-Facebooks-most-valuable-asset.html&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Steel, Emily and Fowler, Geoffery A.  "Facebook in Online Privacy
-		Breach; Applications Transmitting Identifying Information".  <span class="cite-title">The
-		Wall Street Journal</span>.  Dow Jones &amp; Company, Inc.  October 18,
-		2010.
-		<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html">&lt;http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Gannes, Liz.  "Facebook facial recognition prompts EU privacy
-		probe".  <span class="cite-title">CNET News</span>.  CBS Interactive Inc.  June 8, 2011.
-		<a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20070148-93/facebook-facial-recognition-prompts-eu-privacy-probe/">&lt;http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20070148-93/facebook-facial-recognition-prompts-eu-privacy-probe/&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Snyder, Bill.  "Facebook Facial Recognition: Why It's a Threat to
-		Privacy".  <span class="cite-title">PCWorld</span>.  PCWorld Communications, Inc.  June 21,
-		2011.
-		<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/230790/facebook_facial_recognition_why_its_a_threat_to_privacy.html">&lt;http://www.pcworld.com/article/230790/facebook_facial_recognition_why_its_a_threat_to_privacy.html&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Tynan, Dan.  "Facebook ads use your face for free".  <span class="cite-title">ITworld</span>.
-		ITworld.  January 25, 2011.
-		<a href="http://www.itworld.com/internet/134677/facebook-ads-use-your-face-free">&lt;http://www.itworld.com/internet/134677/facebook-ads-use-your-face-free&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Williamson, Elizabeth; Schatz, Amy; and Fowler, Geoffery A.
-		"Facebook Seeking Friends in Beltway".  <span class="cite-title">The Wall Street Journal</span>.
-		Dow Jones &amp; Company, Inc.  April 20, 2011.
-		<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703789104576273242590724876.html">&lt;http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703789104576273242590724876.html&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Crovitz, L. Gordon.  "Facebook's Dubious New Friends".  <span class="cite-title">The Wall
-		Street Journal</span>.  Dow Jones &amp; Company, Inc.  May 2, 2011.
-		<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703567404576293233665299792.html">&lt;http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703567404576293233665299792.html&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Higgins, Alexander.  "Facebook Now Helping Governments Spy On And
-		Arrest Peaceful Activists".  <span class="cite-title">The Intel Hub</span>.  The Intel Hub.  July
-		9, 2011.
-		<a href="http://theintelhub.com/2011/07/09/facebook-now-helping-governments-spy-on-and-arrest-peaceful-activists/">&lt;http://theintelhub.com/2011/07/09/facebook-now-helping-governments-spy-on-and-arrest-peaceful-activists/&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Last, Jeremy.  "Israel uses Facebook to blacklist, detain or deport
-		Tel Aviv-bound travellers".  <span class="cite-title">thestar.com</span>.  Toronto Star.  July 8,
-		2011.
-		<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1022008--israel-uses-facebook-to-blacklist-detain-or-deport-tel-aviv-bound-travellers">&lt;http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1022008--israel-uses-facebook-to-blacklist-detain-or-deport-tel-aviv-bound-travellers&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Roosendaal, Arnold.  "Facebook Tracks and Traces Everyone: Like
-		This!".  <span class="cite-title">Social Science Research Network</span>.  Social Science
-		Electronic Publishing, Inc.  November 30, 2010.
-		<a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1717563">&lt;http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1717563&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Lee, Matt and Sullivan, John.  "Mark Zuckerberg is TIME Magazine's
-		Person of the Year? Where's the "dislike" button?".  <span class="cite-title">Free Software
-		Foundation</span>.  Free Software Foundation, Inc.  February 3, 2011.
-		<a href="http://www.fsf.org/facebook">&lt;http://www.fsf.org/facebook&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		"Statement of Rights and Responsibilities".  <span class="cite-title">Facebook</span>.  Facebook,
-		Inc.  April 26, 2011.
-		<a href="http://www.facebook.com/terms.php">&lt;http://www.facebook.com/terms.php&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		"Twitter Privacy Policy".  <span class="cite-title">Twitter</span>.  Twitter Inc.  June 23,
-		2011.
-		<a href="http://twitter.com/privacy">&lt;http://twitter.com/privacy&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		"Twitter Terms of Service".  <span class="cite-title">Twitter</span>.  Twitter Inc.  June 1,
-		2011.
-		<a href="http://twitter.com/tos">&lt;http://twitter.com/tos&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		"Privacy".  <span class="cite-title">Identi.ca</span>.  StatusNet Inc.
-		<a href="http://identi.ca/doc/privacy">&lt;http://identi.ca/doc/privacy&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		"Tos".  <span class="cite-title">Identi.ca</span>.  StatusNet Inc.
-		<a href="http://identi.ca/doc/tos">&lt;http://identi.ca/doc/tos&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		McDermott, P. J.  "P. J. McDermott (pehjota)".  <span class="cite-title">Identi.ca</span>.
-		StatusNet Inc.
-		<a href="http://identi.ca/pehjota">&lt;http://identi.ca/pehjota&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-	<li>
-		Greve, Georg C. F.  "Freedom in the 'Cloud'?".  <span class="cite-title">freedom bits</span>.
-		Free Software Foundation Europe e.V.  July 30, 2011.
-		<a href="http://blogs.fsfe.org/greve/?p=452">&lt;http://blogs.fsfe.org/greve/?p=452&gt;</a>.
-	</li>
-</ol>
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