One of Facebook’s new slogans is “People First ”. Unfortunately, that sentiment doesn’t seem to apply to users’ privacy choices.

In an earlier blog post, I wrote that when Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress, he “forgot” to mention Facebook’s then-secret data-sharing partnerships with at least 60 other tech companies. Predictably, Facebook also “forgot” to mention these partnerships when it “apologized” (sort of) for breaching the trust of its users in full page ads  the company placed in several newspapers shortly after Zuckerberg appeared before Congress.

Through these data-sharing agreements, Facebook gave mobile phone and other device makers (like Apple and Samsung) access to vast amounts of personal information on its own users. In doing so, Facebook also ignored its users’ privacy choices. The company not only breached their trust, but its own Data Policy, as well. As the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) explains , Facebook “overrode users privacy settings to allow companies to access sensitive information that users’ had explicitly set to private.”

Here’s one of relevant excerpts from Facebook’s current Data Policy :

We work with third-party partners who help us provide and improve our Products or who use Facebook Business Tools to grow their businesses, which makes it possible to operate our companies and provide free services to people around the world. We don’t sell any of your information to anyone, and we never will. We also impose strict restrictions on how our partners can use and disclose the data we provide. (my emphasis)

The “third-party partners” Facebook is referring to presumably include the 60+ tech companies to which it gave access to user data through data-sharing agreements. While Facebook makes a point of telling its users it doesn’t sell their data, that statement is misleading and disingenuous. The company may not sell user data. But it does give its “third-party partners” access to that data. In doing so, Facebook is ignoring user privacy choices.

Below is another excerpt from Facebook’s Data Policy that illustrates why Facebook is being disingenuous when it says it doesn’t sell user data:

When you share and communicate using our Products, you choose the audience for what you share . For example, when you post on Facebook, you select the audience for the post, such as a group, all of your friends, the public, or a customized list of people. . . .  (my emphasis)

Here, Facebook is trying to reassure its users how it’s concerned about their privacy and wants to give them control over their data. How? By giving them a chance to limit who can see their posts by allowing them choose the “audience” who will have access to the information. For example, users can choose to make their posts accessible to the public (which includes people who don’t have” Facebook accounts) or limit access to just their friends.Or so Facebook claims.

Anyone who read the Data Policy would rightly assume that Facebook’s privacy settings do give them some control over their information. But that control is an illusion. Facebook’s data-sharing agreements gave its “third-party partners” access to the same information it promised users they could keep private. And it did so without their consent and without publicly disclosing the existence of those partnerships, at least until recently.

This should raise an obvious question: should you believe anything Facebook says publicly when it comes to its data and privacy practices? I would put it this way: if you rely on Facebook or its CEO’s public statements about the company’s data and privacy practices, proceed at your own risk.

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