Few Privacy Regulations Inhibit Facebook

Now that it's a public company, Facebook needs to significantly boost its revenues to bring them in line with shareholders' expectations. That means finding new uses for the endless amounts of personal data the company collects from its users—but this prospect concerns privacy advocates, who say Facebook has outgrown existing privacy laws. Although regulators around the globe are increasing their scrutiny of Facebook, it might be years before they catch up. Some legal scholars believe that Facebook should be subject to specific consumer protection regulations. As the largest social network, it faces little competitive pressure, and people have few options if they don't like how the company handles their information.