Facebook Continues To Face PR Challenges Around Privacy

Facebook again updated its privacy settings this week, and the move has been met with mixed reviews. Some have applauded that fact that users have more control over their data, while others are concerned about default settings being set up to have users publicly share the most amount of data – not just with their Facebook network, but to the entire web.

As AllFacebook.com’s Nick O’Neill writes, “While Facebook has always been about sharing with friends, it will soon be much more about sharing with the world.”

Kevin Bankston, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said, “Although sold as a ‘privacy’ revamp, Facebook’s new changes are obviously intended to get people to open up even more of their Facebook data to the public.” That being said, Bankston said there are some good things to come out of the changes, which have, “simplified Facebook’s privacy settings, reducing the overall number of settings while making them clearer and easier for users to find and understand.”

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg posted an open letter about the changes on the company’s blog. Privacy seems to be the primary communications issue of late for the social network. Despite the challenges, numerous sources have told PRNewser the company is extremely happy with the work of their PR agency of record, Outcast Communications.

RELATED: Interview: Andrew Noyes, Manager of Public Policy Communications, Facebook

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