Facebook updates privacy policy to simply read “LOL”
Week Three: Ninth Anniversary Fund-Raising Drive for Behind the Black
It is now the third week in my annual anniversary fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black.
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News you can use! Facebook has replaced its long and complex privacy policy to the simple three letter term “LOL.”
“We wanted to be more forthright with our users,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters. “We could give you this boring tome of legalese, or we could simply put it in terms everyone can understand. The popular internet abbreviation for ‘laughing out loud’ is an accurate, concise summary of how we feel about your private data.”
“It’s short, sweet, and to the point,” he added.
Users joining the site for the first time are asked to read the three-letter privacy policy in its entirety before clicking “accept” to acknowledge that the social networking company just laughs its collective keister off at the notion of any Facebook user having any kind of privacy whatsoever.
It is said that for humor to work, it must be based on truth. I think this is a good example.
It is now the third week in my annual anniversary fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black.
Please consider donating. I am trying to avoid advertising on this website, but will be forced to add it if I do not get enough support from my readers. You can give a one-time contribution, from $5 to $100, or a regular subscription for as little as $2 per month. Your support will be deeply appreciated, and will allow me to continue to report on science and culture freely.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
News you can use! Facebook has replaced its long and complex privacy policy to the simple three letter term “LOL.”
“We wanted to be more forthright with our users,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters. “We could give you this boring tome of legalese, or we could simply put it in terms everyone can understand. The popular internet abbreviation for ‘laughing out loud’ is an accurate, concise summary of how we feel about your private data.”
“It’s short, sweet, and to the point,” he added.
Users joining the site for the first time are asked to read the three-letter privacy policy in its entirety before clicking “accept” to acknowledge that the social networking company just laughs its collective keister off at the notion of any Facebook user having any kind of privacy whatsoever.
It is said that for humor to work, it must be based on truth. I think this is a good example.
An amusing Micky-take, but to be fair…. I find Facebook a useful tool for keeping in contact with friends and family over the globe, and I am totally happy with them having the information on me that they have… I never share anything or state anything I wouldn’t in “real life”, and to be honest, I have bought a couple of items that have popped up in my Facebook and Instagram feeds…
I feel that the use of Facebook and their data mining of my “likes” is a fair trade off…
Admittedly many people are unaware of the bargain they are signing by clicking “yes”… but anything that keeps me in contact with my freinds and fam back in the U.K. In such a real time fashion, and also keeps me in contact with my like minded peers, and honestly keeps me in discussion with those I disagree with , is not a bad thing..,
More contact intellectually with other thinkers is generally a good thing…. and as long as everyone knows we are the resource that makes “free” internet services profitable, I see no problems…
Conduct yourself the same on the internet as you would in your local bar…. no problems…
Lee S.:
Well said.
“. . . and as long as everyone knows we are the resource that makes “free” internet services profitable. . .”
A salient point and routinely overlooked. The online privacy war has been fought and lost. I do, however, feel slightly more secure abut my data with private companies than I do with government.