Privacy and Social Media

In yesterday’s The Sunday Age, an article “Facebook Sued Over Claims it Tracks Users’ Activity” (http://www.theage.com.au/technology/technology-news/facebook-sued-over-claims-it-tracks-users-activity-20111001-1l2qv.html),  states that Facebook is being sued by a group of users over claims that once they logged off, Facebook tracked their online activity.  This has to do with whether or not Facebook deletes tracking ‘cookies’ once users log off Facebook.  If ‘cookies’ are not deleted, users’ activities can be tracked as they surf the Internet.

This raises an interesting scenario in relation to privacy and social media.  Is privacy being fractured in the social media space and the Internet in general?  There is a belief by some that privacy online should be the same as the offline world in that the laws and principles that protect us offline should do the same online.  However, is this a realistic expectation?

Firstly, current laws are not keeping pace with technological advancements and there are massive privacy issues for the online space as the laws are failing to protect to the degree that people expect and have become accustomed to in the offline world.  Secondly, the offline and online spaces are completing diverse environments.  And thirdly, the Internet in general is an open space compounded more so in social media where personal details are there for everyone to see.

Is our assumption of privacy an outdated concept that doesn’t work online or should we expect privacy protection regardless of what space we are in?

This is an interesting question that is not easily resolved and one that we as a society will grapple with for sometime yet.

What does everyone think?  I would love to hear your comments and thoughts.