UsableMarkets

This article in the FT about a Facebook ap called We’re Related has raised some eyebrows across the pond (in Europe, that is).

Essentially the application asks to use your private data to see which of your friends might be related to you, however distantly, and then can potentially share that information, even though you might have previously said this was information you did not want to share. This seems to be a clear violation of privacy (difficult to define, regardless) and the Europeans are of course on the case.

What’s interesting from a business point of view is that many Facebook applications appear to rely on this type of “sharing” of information as the backbone for their business model. And if the Europeans crack down, that’s a threat to the business model.

As the article states:

If this leads to tighter regulations on how personal information flows to the applications that ride on top of the networks, it could have long-term business implications. Giving application developers access to data to make their services more engaging – and, for advertisers, to make their messages more relevant – is central to how the social networks hope to attract users, and make money, in the future.

It seems possible that some developers, wary of breaking laws, will conform to the strictest standards. Which means that Europe will be to privacy laws what California is to pollution laws in the US: the de facto standard.

Which ultimately means harder going for businesses in the social networking realm.

Related … I wish we weren’t

(Thanks AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com)

~alex