Report: Facebook to Settle FTC Case by Making Privacy Changes Opt-In

Facebook is close to settling charges by the Federal Trade Commission that it deceived users about privacy changes, The Wall Street Journal reports. The settlement would “require Facebook to obtain ‘express affirmative consent’ when it makes ‘material retroactive changes'” to private user data. In other words, sharing-related privacy changes will now be up to users to opt into — Facebook won’t be able to force people to either make more data available, or have to “opt out” of using Facebook.

The specific issue is that Facebook changed its privacy policies in late 2009, forcing all users to make some information public that it had previously said would not be made public.

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