Facebook Foes

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/fl-facebook-lawsuit-settlement-20101227,0,7806953.story

A victory for the First Amendment? Yes. Something to think about? Maybe...

We've all been told we have to be careful about what we put on Facebook (or Myspace, or Twitter, etc.) - and I myself am probably guilty of being a little TOO confident in the privacy settings. I mean, I'm not into the "checking in" phenomenon myself... but I have been "tagged" in posts like that. We jokingly talk about Facebook stalking, but sometimes I suppose it's more a possibility than we regularly consider.

We all know that would-be criminals have always loved the Internet. And, honestly, I myself have never really been duped by someone claiming I could make millions by giving my credit card information to someone in Africa (although, I've had friends and clients alike who HAVE genuinely fallen for such things).

So, check this out:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-facebook-scams-20101227,0,7348052.story

Turns out crooks love Facebook too. And, ok -- maaaaybe you'd have to be quite a *special* sorority girl to believe some random dude's claims that your sorority membership depends on your sending him lewd photos. Ok. *Free Olive Garden Gift Certificate, Just Click Here* might be a more tempting option...
But, really, I think the real thing most people have to pay attention to is -- who are your friends on Facebook? I'm all for a friendly game of I-have-more-friends-on-facebook-than-you... and personally have a rule that I only accept friend requests from those I've met in real life (at least once) -- but that's really more a silly point of pride than a response to security concerns. But many (ahem, DUDES - with porn stars as Facebook friends -- your, uh, special "intimate" moments with them don't really count) are friends with people just because they ask.
But then the article mentions fake Facebook profiles - people who are your REAL friends who have their Facebook accounts hijacked by a real crook (with bad intentions and access to your personal information).

Which brings me back to the original story -- how much can you say on Facebook about another person -- legally -- and, then, of course, how much SHOULD you say anyway?

This girl had a Facebook group devoted to how horrible her teacher was -- up for only three days. She took it down, not because of punishment from her school (which came later), but because her classmates gave her such a hard time about it. Social pressure usually does its job at that point in life - way better than our parents or teachers can, huh? Anyway, it's just interesting -- seems like this teacher was a little bit of a whiner. But where do we draw the line?

I knew someone who had an entire profile made of him - without his consent - claiming that he was coming out as a gay man (he isnt gay). Ok, obviously there's an issue of WHO has that kind of time on their hands (meaning the dude who created the profile) -- but that's pretty serious. If you put your picture on Facebook, you put it out there -- not only for people to see, but for people to STEAL and assume your identity - or really do whatever they want with it. Sure, a lot of this activity is illegal -- but how much damage could be done before you could really reach those avenues?

In the end, I'm the wrong person to lecture about this. After all, I'll be posting this blog on Facebook after I finish it. But, it is at least food for thought.