Facebook may have 1.06 billion monthly active users, but 61 percent of them have taken time off from the social network in the form of breaks that lasted several weeks, according to the latest study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
We're kicking off our upcoming Social Media Marketing Boot Camp with a special keynote presentation by Ella Chick (left), the digital producer at Anderson Cooper 360°. She'll discuss how the network uses social media for breaking news and leverages social media to draw attention to organizations and causes. Learn more about our program and register here. 
The privacy policy changes Instagram put into effect Saturday apparently claimed a few victims, as CNET reported that several users of the Facebook-owned photo-sharing application complained of being locked out of their accounts over the weekend.
Perhaps learning from mistakes of the recent past, Facebook-owned photo-sharing application Instagram sent a reminder email to its users this week about changes to its privacy policy, which take effect Jan. 19.
Not long after Facebook altered its data use policy, the social network’s photo-sharing site, Instagram, is also planning some changes. According to Instagram’s newest terms of use, users should expect to see more ads featuring their friends (sound familiar?). Sister site Social Times read through Instagram’s policy — which becomes official Jan. 16 — to let users know about some key facets.
When Facebook told users it was planning to approve changes to its data use policy and statement of rights and responsibilities without putting them to a vote, users and privacy advocates were up in arms. Luckily, commenters have taken matters into their own hands, posting enough comments on the note announcing the changes to force Facebook to put them to a vote.
Facebook is seeking the dismissal of a $15 billion lawsuit that accuses it of secretly tracking its users’ Internet activity after they leave the social network’s platform, saying that the plaintiffs failed to offer specific examples of how they were harmed by its alleged actions.
Facebook reminded developers that the app dashboard entries for their applications must include valid privacy policy URLs.
As Facebook gets tougher on application developers, making them detail how they collect information, Italy-based Iubenda — a company that provides privacy policies for websites — will offer its services to those that produce Facebook apps, starting Tuesday.
California Facebook users worried about privacy while using applications can breathe a sigh of relief. Based on an agreement struck today with California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, all apps in Facebook’s App Center are required to have a written privacy policy detailing what profile information is used and how it is shared.
Privacy continues to be a touchy issue for Facebook, as some minor changes the company made to the language in the terms of service — including changing the title from privacy policy to data use policy –are drawing scrutiny from regulators and analysts.
