In this day and age, electronic communication has replaced the majority of human contact. A phone call can be easily replaced by a “wall post,” and a greeting by an “electronic poke.” These electronic communication tools are really no different than interaction in small towns. There is the usual spying and gossiping, but now the town is the whole globe – the World Wide Web. This is the new era of electronic voyeurism. What happens on the Internet does not stay on the Internet. Many WSU students have taken to the Internet frenzy by signing up for Facebook. Lots of people are doing it, myself included, and it is fun. But what students don’t know is that Facebook is watching you. Facebook, the “social utility” tool, is supposed to be a private space to maintain relationships and networks. Originally, it was set up only for college students. But recently, the Web site has been expanded to allow everyone, by school affiliation, employment or geographic location. According to a Facebook blog, as of February 2007 there are about 18 million members. Approximately half of the members log in once a day. According to the Facebook site: “At Facebook, we believe you should have control over your information and who sees it. So in addition to the basic visibility rules – only your friends and people in your networks can see your profile – we also give you granular control over the information you post to the site.” However, Facebook members do not have control over who sees their profile from behind-the-scenes, or with whom these developers are exchanging users’ information. In the Facebook privacy policy, the part everyone clicks through when setting up a profile, there are a few disconcerting clauses. The “we may share your information with third parties” part is supplemented with “we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law or to protect our interests or property. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies.” Also, Facebook is tracking a user’s every move. “Facebook also collects information about you from other sources, such as newspapers and instant messaging services and other users of Facebook, to supplement your profile,” the privacy policy states. What happens on Facebook is not private.

Everything that any Facebook member has ever written on a profile, or otherwise, is in complete control of Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder and CEO. Millions of people have voluntarily given their personal information to Facebook. Things such as their sexual orientation, political affiliation and favorite movies are given out under the false feeling of privacy and security. This information, according to Facebook’s policy, could be supplied to the government and is also compiled for demographic and consumer purposes. More than connecting people, Facebook is information mining – duping unaware students into sacrificing their constitutional right to privacy.