We've talked here before -- a lot, actually -- about how unimpressed I usually am with Facebook's methods of protecting the privacy of its users, especially when those "efforts" are usually buried under several layers of clicks, boxes and preferences.
But the latest flap over Facebook and privacy hasn't been about what the social networking giant has or hasn't done, and in this case FB is doing the right thing.
This started a couple weeks ago, when our friends at AP wrote a story about employers who were asking job applicants to hand over the login information for their social media accounts -- Twitter, Linkedin and, yes, Facebook -- so the company could get a real look at a person's background. We're not talking about a friend request here; we're talking about a look at the back end of the applicant's accounts -- access to messages, blocked photos, settings, approved applications, everything.
Why? In the case of a guy who was trying to return to his job as a prison guard after a bereavement leave, it was to see if he had any gang affiliations, perhaps an odd thing to ask of a guy who had already worked there. In the case of the McLean County, Ill., sheriff's office, it was to check for "inappropriate pictures or relationships with people who are underage (or) illegal behavior," said a deputy, who added that no applicants had ever turned down the request.
Whoa.
The response, in most cases, has been overwhelmingly negative. The American Civil Liberties Union has griped about it and government types at state and federal levels have even tried legislation that would ban the practice. One of those attempts, in the U.S. House of Representatives, failed late last week, but there are promises of separate legislation in the Senate as well.
Best of all? Facebook and its own reaction. In the initial AP story, FB didn't have much to say, other than a quick statement that handing over your password to someone who isn't you is a violation of FB's terms of service.
But that changed last week when Erin Egan, FB's chief privacy officer, took to the company's blog and lambasted the practice. Egan points out that the practice not only jeopardizes your privacy but that of your friends, who may have given you greater access to their stuff because they trust that it won't go any further.
"As a user, you shouldn't be forced to share your private information and communications just to get a job," Egan wrote. "And as the friend of a user, you shouldn't have to worry that your private information or communications will be revealed to someone you don't know and didn't intend to share with just because that user is looking for a job."
And Egan is correct. Even if you've taken steps to ensure that your online life has no skeletons hidden in digital closets, a request like this is akin to asking you hand over your snail mail for review -- and, as far as I know, no employer would be stupid enough to make that request.
And while it's easy to say you'd walk out of an interview where an employer gets pushy like this, you have to admit it's not always that simple. As law professor Lori Anderson said in the original AP story: "Volunteering is coercion if you need a job."
SEX, LIES AND IPAD BATTERIES
The Don't Call It An iPad 3 has been out in public for a few weeks now, and the device's first flaw has already been revealed and addressed, sort of, by Apple.
The problem? The iPad's battery indicator lies. Tests showed that the iThing's battery continued to charge after the indicator reached 100 percent; they also showed that the apparent flaw could cost iPad owners as much as an hour's worth of unplugged run time.
Hm. This column didn't exist when Apple had its problem with the placement of the antenna on the iPhone 4; that was the one in which the late Steve Jobs suggested that users were holding their phones incorrectly and thereby disrupting calls.
I'm not sure what Steve would have said about this problem -- maybe we should be charging our iPads differently, right, Steve? -- but Apple did finally get around to issuing an explanation last week. Michael Tchao, Apple's VP for iPad marketing, told allthingsd.com that the Don't Call It An iPad 3 charges the same way any iOS device does -- it gets up to 100 percent and then drains a bit; that cycle repeats as long as the device is plugged in as a way of protecting the battery.
Quote from Tchao: "That circuitry is designed so you can keep keep your device plugged in as long as you would like. It's a great feature that's always been in iOS."
Which immediately made me think of one of my favorite tech jokes: "That's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature."
And somewhere, Steve Jobs is laughing.
No comments:
Post a Comment