FACEBOOK “Places”

Last week, the social networking site introduced its latest invasion of privacy feature, called PLACES.

Here’s how it works:  Let’s say you stop off at your local singles bar one night after work.  And while there, you run into your neighbor, your old college roommate, and your church deacon. So you pull out your trusty iPhone, sign into Facebook, and “check-in” via tagging that you, your neighbor, your college roommate and your deacon are all in attendance at the bar.  And just like that, any and all of your friends or members of your network will immediately be alerted that you and you’re friends are at the bar partying.  Now this might be an incredibly hip social booster for you if you enjoy letting everyone know your every move.  But it might not be so much fun for your neighbor, your old college roommate, or your church deacon, who (for a number of reasons) may have been visiting the bar incognito and wish you had just minded your own business.

WELCOME TO FACEBOOK — and another round of certain controversy regarding privacy.

One would think after dealing with angry and frustrated users over privacy for several months just this year, Facebook would have learned their lesson.  But instead, the king of social networking sites is jumping back into dangerous privacy waters with this brand new location-based service.

“Places” will soon be a stalker’s best friend, or perhaps your worst nightmare. Obsessed with a beautiful new neighbor and want to know her whereabouts at all times? Check Places. Want to know when someone is away from home so you can break in and steal their flat-screen TV? Check Places. Want to know if an employee really is home sick, or just out attending a matinee of that hot new Broadway play? Check Places. It’s a modern day version of “Big Brother” which turns all your friends into the “spy-police.”  And if that’s not enough, users are forced to opt OUT of the service rather than opt IN, meaning you were automatically enlisted in places the very moment it launched, whether you liked it or not — which is typical Facebook style.

Soon after Places was announced, the ACLU issued a statement condemning the service, saying “In the world of Facebook Places, ‘no’ is unfortunately not an option. Places allows your friends to tag you when they check in somewhere, and Facebook makes it very easy to say ‘yes’ to allowing your friends to check in for you. But when it comes to opting out of that feature, you are only given a ‘not now’ option. ‘No’ isn’t one of the easy options.”

Gee thanks, Facebook!