Canadian Study Claims Facebook Violates Privacy Law

On Friday, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), based at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, filed a privacy complaint against Facebook. I earlier wrote about CIPPIC's report which indicated that DRM violated Canadian privacy law.

It should be noted that Canadian privacy law is much more strict and protective that American privacy law, as evidenced by yet another privacy issue, in which it is thought that Google Street View may violate those same laws.

The 35-page complaint (.PDF), which CIPPIC sent to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, alleges items ranging from sign-up requirements and advertising policies to third party applications and mobile access result in 22 violations of the Canadian Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

Of course, it's clear from the complaint above that most, if not all, of the same violations would exist for any social networking site. Facebook was selected as the study's focus because of its popularity in Canada.

In a press release (.PDF), Clinic Director Philippa Lawson said:

“Social networking online is growing phenomenon. It is proving to be a tremendous tool for community-building and social change, but at the same time, a minefield of privacy invasion. We chose to focus on Facebook because it is the most popular social networking site in Canada and because it appeals to young teens who may not appreciate the risks involved in exposing their personal details online.”

Facebook has more than seven million Canadian members, making Canada the third largest user base, after the U.S and the U.K.

The study was based on an analysis done by university law students, some of whom are quoted in the press release, during a winter course hosted by the clinic. CIPPIC indicated it may perform a similar study on MySpace this summer.