Facebook is simplifying its privacy settings

THE USERS of Facebook might have to jump through fewer hoops to protect their personal information, as the social notworking website is preparing changes to its privacy settings that will make them easier to use.

The advertising and data mining and occasional people-uniting website has often been criticised for how it treats personal privacy, which it could be said is similar to the way that cats treat mice, and has regularly pretended to attempt to make the path to personal security seem less fraught with pitfalls for its users.

Perhaps none of these previous attempts, which have been as regularly criticised as they have been launched, has been successful, as now the firm is looking to clear its slate and start over with a fresh system of privacy controls.

"At Facebook, we are constantly developing new experiences and features to help you control your information" said the firm on its Facebook Site Governance blog. "Some of our recent work includes simplified privacy settings and publisher privacy controls that let you select your audience every time you post something on Facebook. However, there is more to controlling your information than just settings."

The firm acknowledged that its current settings are not ideal, in fact it accepted that they had been criticised as "5830 words of legalese" and "longer than the U.S. Constitution - without the amendments", and could be a lot simpler.

Facebook is now offering users simpler settings, the blog added, and has had an injection of what was described as "Facebook's unconventional, innovative spirit" to produce something that can be grasped and applied by non-lawyers, that is, normal people.

Facebook is suggesting a number of simple principles, number one of which is that "it should be easy to understand, even when the concepts are complicated, or it is of no use to anyone". Secondly, and less importantly, "it should be visual and interactive, because that's the way people use the web today", and thirdly, "it should focus on the questions people who use Facebook are most likely to ask, because that makes it relevant".

The suggested new policy is currently available for user evaluation and Facebook is asking for some input before putting it in place. "Because we're tackling a challenge that matters to so many people - and doing it in a way that is so different from what we've done before - we're giving you a look even earlier in the process," it said. "If people like what we have, we'll put it through our regular notice and comment process at a later date."

The Inquirer takes some exception to the suggestion that Facebook is doing this 'early' in the process, because the last time we checked it hasn't been February 2004 for quite a while.

Facebook, which has been on the world wide web for some seven years now, has had the sort of privacy policies that make us think of paper tents in rainy seasons during that period. But somehow it has still managed to sign up about an eighth of the global population to communicate on its webpages. µ