Yesterday we ran a piece chastising the NY Times for fearmongering on Facebook’s account deletion policies. To recap, we essentially took the stance that Facebookers have an obligation to familiarize themselves with Facebook’s terms before partaking in the service.

Today, Brandee Barker of Facebook sent along this email clarifying Facebook’s deletion practices:

There are two different ways to remove your information from
Facebook. The first is to deactivate an account. Once a user
deactivates the account, his or her profile becomes inaccessible on
the main Facebook service, and the data is kept by Facebook only to
allow easy reactivation.

The second option is to delete the profile
altogether. When a user deletes his or her profile, personal
information — such as name and all email addresses associated with
the account — is deleted from Facebook servers. If a user decides to
join Facebook again, he or she would need to create a new profile.

We are working to better explain the simple deactivation process, and to
ease the deletion process for those who want their personal
information removed from our servers. Additional information can be
found on the Facebook help page.

Data collection is standard protocol for many, many online companies. The Internet is comprised entirely of information and user data is part of that information. If you’re wearing an tinfoil hat and preparing for the invasion, you should be aware that the online products you use probably store your data and by using the service you’ve undoubtedly given them permission to do so.

It’s important to have the right perspective here. You shouldn’t necessarily avoid these companies because they store your information, you just need to understand what’s at stake. Facebook, like Google, deals exclusively in information. In the case of Facebook, it’s the information of people. There is still a stigma about having a presence online. This fear has been drummed up for years by articles like the one yesterday in the NY Times, shows like “To Catch a Predator” and countless other pieces citing the horribles fates that befell people who put themselves online. Get over it.

You can be online and be safe. Facebook is, in fact, one of the safest ways to maintain a Web presence. Its privacy controls allow you to widdle your online existence down to practically nothing. So when you start to fear that the invasion is coming just take a deep breath, it’s not coming, you’re safe because your privacy is in your control.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Google, privacy, controversy, account deletion

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