Facebook Privacy Questioned by House of Representatives

Facebook’s privacy policy is now under scrutiny by the House of Representatives.

U.S. Representatives Edward Markey (D. Mass.) and Joe Barton (R. Texas) have sent Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg a letter questioning Facebook’s privacy policies regarding the sharing of user information, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The letter follows the Oct. 18 WSJ report that many of Facebook’s apps share personal data with third-party advertisers and Internet tracking firms. Those apps include “Texas HoldEm Poker,” “Mafia Wars,” and “FarmVille,” the last of which has about 50 million users.

In the letter, Markey and Barton, co-chairs of the House Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, ask Zuckerberg for details about when Facebook first became aware its apps were sharing personal information, how many of the social networking site’s 500 million users have been affected by the privacy breach, and how Facebook plans to address the issue.

Facebook was given a deadline of Oct. 27 for a response.

• Social Networking Websites Review
• How to Secure Privacy on Facebook
• Monitoring Software Review

Video

Big Bucks for Instagram; 13” Tablet? Nokia’s Pres. Talks Lumia – SpoonFed Mobile Ep.#5 | Video

LAPTOPmag’s Mark Spoonauer gives his thoughts on the buyout of Instagram, asks how big is too big for a table and talks Lumia with the president of Nokia.