I heard Elizabeth Denham, Information and Privacy Commissioner  for BC, Canada, speak last night at the University of Victoria #UVic. I live tweeted from the event. You can find the tweets via the hashtag #BCCommDenham Here I am going to post some points she shared on her PPT slide show.

1. Think before you click

2. Know who your friends are

3. Read and understand privacy policies

4. Pay attention to your privacy settings

5. Avoid disclosing your location

6. Do not share your password, update it regularly,  and use different passwords

7. Be careful with your Social Insurance Number

8. Protect your email address

9. Protect your privacy and your friends’ privacy

10. Be discreet

I think that the ten points all make sense. For those of us on Facebook it might be a good time to revisit your profile and your privacy settings. I know that I’ve had to request that family/friends not use my kids’ full-names on Facebook or other sites.

Based on her talk, I was really surprised how Canada pushed back against Facebook–the social networking hegemon! As Denham noted, the investigation took 14 months and their findings exceeded 100 pages. Ultimately, it took Facebook a year to change and update privacy settings. And, we can thank law students in Canada who were instrumental with getting the investigation placed onto Denham’s desk!