Social networking site Facebook has come under a barrage of criticism in recent weeks leading some users to seriously consider whether to continue using the site. Much criticism revolves around Facebook's privacy policy which many say goes too far in making users' details publicly viewable.
The company faced objections last year when it rolled out changes to privacy settings that made certain information viewable to everyone on the service, instead of just to friends on Facebook.
Questions have even been raised in the US congress and the European parliament as to whether Facebook took the correct approach in changing its settings. Users to the site found they had to opt-out rather than opt-in to the new settings and some have complained the settings are also too complicated.
Facebook, which was created in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, has repeatedly faced privacy concerns as the social networking service has evolved and grown over the years. A 2007 initiative dubbed Beacon, which published Facebook users' activity at other websites to their Facebook news feed, also triggered a strong backlash.
Facebook's recent policy change has brought far more criticism however. Earlier this month, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and a coalition of 14 other advocacy groups filed a complaint to the US Federal Trade Commission blasting Facebook for disclosing user information to third-parties without user consent.
And some users are even thinking of quitting the site altogether. Matthew Milan and Joseph Dee from Toronto have set up a website www.QuitFacebookDay.com to bring together people who have had enough of Facebook and intend to delete their accounts. They have chosen May 31 as "Quit Facebook Day" but even they admit it will be a difficult decision for many people.
"Quitting Facebook isn't easy. Facebook is engaging, enjoyable and quite frankly, addictive. Quitting something like Facebook is like quitting smoking," the site says. But as the two explain "it comes down to two things: fair choices and best intentions." Facebook does not offer either properly, Milan and Dee argue.
While Facebook allows users to manage their data, the site is "difficult for the average user to understand" they claim. "For a lot of people, quitting Facebook revolves around privacy. This is a legitimate concern, but we also think the privacy issue is just the symptom of a larger set of issues," the site says.
"The cumulative effects of what Facebook does now will not play out well in the future, and we care deeply about the future of the web as an open, safe and human place. We just can't see Facebook's current direction being aligned with any positive future for the web, so we're leaving."
