Facebook/State AG deal on Teen Privacy Fails to Get to the Facts and Protect the Public

statement responding to the announcement by Maryland State AG and NAAG President Douglas Gansler on Facebook, teen privacy, and education.
 
Maryland AG Doug Gansler appears to be more interested friending Mark Zuckerberg than working to protect teen privacy on Facebook.  Facebook's practices regarding teens, especially its data collection and ad targeting, require an investigation--not just some glossy educational videos and tip sheets.  As president of the National Association of Attorneys General,  Mr. Gansler should be working to really protect privacy on Facebook--instead of a PR effort designed to further his political career.   Facebook is a complex and deliberately ever-expanding data collection octopus.  Young people are the subject of powerful Facebook marketing campaigns pushing junk food and other questionable practices.  Gansler's feel good effort fails to deliver what parents, teens and other Facebook users require:  strong privacy safeguards giving them real control over their data.

Jeff Chester, executive director