Facebook tackles after-death policy
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 | 6:56 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Canada's privacy commissioner has expressed concerns about how Facebook deals with the personal information of users. Facebook is expected to announce a new policy on how it handles profiles of deceased users in the next week, a spokeswoman for Canada's privacy commissioner says.
This week, the social networking site has been reminding members about a service that memorializes profiles of deceased users at the request of friends and family members.
But Facebook has yet to adopt privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart's recommendation for more disclosure about what happens to users' personal information when they die.
In August, Stoddart's office released a report expressing concerns about how the social networking site deals with users' personal information.
Commissioner spokeswoman Anne-Marie Hayden says Facebook was expected to post a new privacy policy within 10 weeks of the August report, which would mean it's due within the next seven days.
Stoddart wants to ensure that users realize their personal information could remain online, even after death. Facebook will take down an account if requested by a deceased user's family or friends.
Memorializing a profile changes privacy settings so no further status updates can be made, contact information is hidden and only confirmed friends can access the profile.
Facebook has more than 300 million active users worldwide, including about 12 million in Canada.
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