Facebook overhauls privacy policy

Facebook is revamping its much-criticised privacy policy, allowing users to pre-approve photo tags, written posts and tag brands, in what many claim is a direct response to Google+ settings.
However, according to Facebook product manager Kate O’Neill the measures are a response to requests from users, who said the photo tag feature “has been the most requested change”.
She said: “The pre-approval process will also apply to written posts that others tag you in. In addition, you have the option of pre-approving what others tag on your own photos and posts.”
Other changes to the privacy system will include the ability to control the visibility of status updates and an expansion of the tagging functionality to include locations, wall posts and status updates.
“Your profile should feel like your home on the Web, you should never feel like stuff appears there that you don’t want, and you should never wonder who sees what’s there,” Facebook vice president of products Chris Cox wrote in a blog posting.
“The profile is getting some new tools that give you clearer, more consistent controls over how photos and posts get added to it, and who can see everything that lives there.”
User privacy has long been an issue of contention between Facebook and its user community. The company has in the past been criticised for its handling of privacy policies and changes to the format which have left user data exposed to third parties.
Since launching Google+, Google has been claiming that its site offers a simpler, more effective way to share content than Facebook. Google has said that Facebook’s privacy and content-sharing controls are too complex and inconvenient, leading users to often share inadvertently with a larger audience than intended.
Earlier this week, it emerged that Facebook has run into trouble in Germany, with the data commissioner of one state demanding it removes the “Like” button as, it claims, it violates German and EU data protection laws.