Facebook Pledges To Address Photo Privacy Concerns

by Carol Scott · 2010-10-21 14:26:00 UTC
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It was the deleted photo seen 'round the world. Earlier this month, Ars Technica blogger Jacqui Cheng discovered that a photo she'd deleted on Facebook 16 months ago was still alive and well on Facebook's servers. That's right -- photos that Facebook users delete can continue to be stored on Facebook's site, accessible to anyone with the original URL. This revelation sent shivers down the spines of teachers, students and anyone else grappling with the gray area of social networking, privacy and appropriate communication. More than 100 Change.org members signed a petition telling Facebook to change its policies to ensure that deleted photos were, in fact, deleted. Cheng's story made news around the world.

Here's the great news: Facebook has pledged to address photo privacy concerns. "We're currently working with the CDN [content delivery network] on a fix that will delete photo and video content from the CDN's cache shortly after it's removed on Facebook," a Facebook spokesman wrote Change.org this week. "The fix is already in place for videos, and we hope to implement it for profile pictures and photos in the coming weeks."

Facebook is entertaining, addictive and very much a part of our culture. But for educators, it can prove to be dangerous. Take New York, where teachers have been fired for inappropriate contact with their students through Facebook, or Chicago, where the district's choice to ban Facebook and Twitter for teachers caused controversy. Perfectly innocent teachers have been disciplined for letting personal information slip through Facebook.

What's the best way to remove embarrassing Facebook photos, quotes or status updates from the Internet? Don't put them there in the first place. But sometimes teachers and others don't have control over what goes up online (like the case of the Pennsylvania teacher who was suspended after photos were posted from someone else of a bachelorette party in her house). It's great to see Facebook responding to coverage and responses from people around the world. Thank you to everyone who signed the petition. We see it on the site again and again - Change.org members make a huge difference for good.  

Photo credit: Beck Tench

Carol Scott is the Education Editor for Change.org.
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