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Benjamin Van Severen

POSC 4996
May 11, 2010
Essay 4
Facebook and the Redefining of Privacy
Facebook is an easy target to direct the blame towards when one becomes angry about the
lack of privacy in todays society. It is no secret that the boundaries between public and private
are merging, but is it fair to single out one website at the culprit? Facebook is a social
networking site where the intention is to connect people to each other and share information.
But a closer examination of their mission statement throughout the past six years shows a trend
that is much larger than Facebook. It shows that society as a whole is gradually moving away
from privacy as it was known in the past. There has been a slow redefining of the term privacy
in society really since the cell phone took off in the 1990s. Ultimately, there will not be an
elimination of privacy, rather an evolution of the term to represent the technology of the times.
Even before the internet was widely accessible, public information was being put into
computer databases. With the increased capacities of computer storage, information such as
Social Security Numbers, home addresses, and family information were being connected in these
information centers. The internet only magnifies the amount of personal information that is
being maintained.1 As was discussed in class, court records were always public information.
However, to access the records, one would have to physically enter the courthouse and search for
the records. Now, a simple Google search will reveal these public records instantly. This is by
no means a violation of our rights to privacy because they still are public records. But a DUI in
1970 may have remained much more private than a DUI in 2010.

Daniel J. Solove, The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age (NY: New York University Press, 2004) 13-55.

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Another historical example of the blending of boundaries between public and private
deals with cellular phones. Current FCC regulations require phone companies to provide all
handsets with a way of tracing 911 calls, and the most common is through GPS chips. While the
only way the GPS chips are activated is with a 911 call, this still might raise privacy issues for
some. However, Records are kept of every tower your phone communicates with.2 One needs
to balance the convenience of having a cellular phone with the knowledge that your location may
be determined at any given moment. This again is an example of the gradual movement towards
a new definition of privacy.
In terms of Facebook and the evolution of privacy, Kate Raynes-Goldie coins the term
social privacy. What this means is that Facebook users were more concerned about controlling
access to personal information rather than how Facebook used their information.3 Privacy is still
a real concern for Facebook users. However, information users parents would never publicize,
such as religious preference, birthday and hometown, and even cell phone numbers, Digital
Natives are very comfortable publicizing. Furthermore, Facebook would not be the social
networking utility it is if users were reluctant to publicize information about themselves. As
Bumgarner states in his article, Facebook appears to operate primarily as a tool for the
facilitation of gossip.4
Yet, the telling sign of Facebooks purpose can be found in the evolution of its mission
statement throughout the years. Gillian Reagan examined the subtle but significant changes in
the language of Facebooks mission from 2004 to 2009. Thefacebook is an online directory that

Johnson, Joel. Is your Carrier Tracing You via GPS and 911 Calls? 2010.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/how-to/4258805
3
Kate Raynes-Goldie, "Aliases, Creeping, and Wall Cleaning: Understanding Privacy in the Age of Facebook," First Monday
15:1 (4 January 2010)
4
Brett A. Bumgarner, "You Have Been Poked: Exploring the Uses and Gratifications of Facebook Among Emerging Adults,"
First Monday 12:11 (5 November 2007)

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connects people through social networks at colleges (Harvard only) 2004.5 The site was then
expanded to all colleges later in 2004, and included high schools in 2005. The most telling
difference of language, however, is between 2008 and 2009. Facebook helps you to connect
and share with the people in your life (2008).6 And in 2009, Facebook gives people the power
to share and make the world more open and connected.7 The simple difference is that in 2008,
the focus was on the individual sharing information with people in their life. In the short span of
one year, it was giving people the power to connect the world.
All of this information does not mean that society needs to give up on privacy. Since the
early days of census taking, families have been divulging personal information to public
agencies. As technology has increased, there has been a gradual increase in the amount of
information that has become available. But with social networking sites such as Facebook, there
is no mandatory requirement that someone use the site. If someone wants to keep personal
information private, then they will not use the website. The tradeoff, as with the GPS chips in
phones, is convenience. The fact of the digital age is that it is much easier to locate and keep
records on people. Emails and text messages are instant forms of communication, but are easily
traced. But rather than making a telephone call or sending a letter, our society has begun to
accept these privacy concerns as a reality. Privacy still exists, but it is not the privacy that our
parents and grandparents knew. And for user based information sites and social networking sites,
users can be as private as they wish. The consequence simply is that this is a one way street; it is
highly unlikely that society will ever revert to the old norms of privacy and do away with social
networking sites and the conveniences they afford to users.

Reagan, Gillian. The Evolution of Facebooks Mission Statement. The New York Observer: Media Mob. July 13, 2009.

Ibid.
Ibid.