In recent weeks, there have been increasing doubts as to what we can expect in the form of the information we upload to sites being kept private. Google CEO Eric Schmidt is on record as saying, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place" in regards to a question about privacy and Google. He did later refute claims that the statement was saying that Google doesn't care about privacy, but that may have just been from the shitstorm that ensued the initial comments.

Recently, Facebook also changed their privacy settings page. Upon clicking the notice that they provide, you were given two choices: Keep the old settings (with no notification of what those settings are) or to abandon privacy settings altogether and allow anyone to view your page and anything contained within, and have direct access to your information. Some Facebook apps have also come under scrutiny for using their profile access (which is also an all or nothing affair; you either give the app developer access to all of your information, or you don't use the app) on their official sites such as having leaderboards featuring photos and names, something that the user never agreed to.

Those are only two examples, and probably the most prolific due to Google and Facebook likely being the two largest public information sties around, but there are many more. Microsoft, Comcast, and AT&T have all had problems with this in the past and may still (I am not up-to-date with their affairs). Another quick example is the leaking of the Yahoo! price list for buying user information (if I remember correctly, this is a government only deal).

So the question is... are we facing a privacy crisis on the internet? Should information you upload be public domain, or should it be restricted to the site, and only that site, that you uploaded it to? Do you trust major sites with your information, or are you afraid that these sites will "harvest" your identity, selling it similarly to how Yahoo! does? Could the lack of privacy lead to a public crisis of identity theft?

As always, these are just starting points. Feel free to expand in any way you wish.

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