Facebook Privacy Algorithm Update

News reaches us today that Facebook has reacted to the global worres about privacy abuse by hiring a Beltway Lobbyist - Washington Post:

Facebook said Thursday that it is expanding its global policy team and poached from the White House, hiring as its new vice president of global public policy, Marne Levine, chief of staff of the National Economic Council.

In her new role for the Silicon Valley social networking Goliath, Levine will oversee the company’s interaction with governments and non-governmental organizations around the globe as the company reaches 500 million users worldwide, Facebook said in an announcement Thursday.

She will be based in Washington, just as the firm builds its local policy and lobbying team to address growing interest by lawmakers and regulators on how the social networking giant is dealing with issues such as copyright, security of children online, and privacy.

Levine will also help the firm build its policy teams in Asia, the Americas and Europe, the company said.

If you can't beat 'em, buy a Lobbyist (or, if you pefer this homily; when the going gets tough, the tough get lobbying). We have thus updated our Facebook Privacy Algorithm to take this new step into account (see above).

The serious (as opposed to satirical) point is that Facebook has gone from groovy startup to large lobbying corporate in remarkably short time, driven in the main by the increasing conflict between their commercial model which demands exposing ever more private user data, and the growing concerns of privacy activists, legislators and - increasingly - citizens.

This follows fast on the heels on the publication of a Facebook Fanbook (every large US privacy invading company has one....)