Privacy group calls for federal investigation of Facebook's Timeline

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) is urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate whether Facebook's new "Timeline" feature is legal.

"With Timeline, Facebook has once again taken control over the user's data from the user and has now made information that was essentially archived and inaccessible widely available without the consent of the user," EPIC wrote in a letter to the FTC, dated Dec. 27. Facebook's Timeline feature, which launched last month, replaces users' profiles with a log of information dating back to their birth. Users can still control what information they share, but Timeline makes it much easier to access even long-forgotten posts.

EPIC says Timeline might violate a settlement that Facebook reached with the FTC last year. "With Timeline, Facebook is increasing the exposure of users' personal information without seeking their consent," EPIC wrote. But a Facebook spokesman argued Timeline does not change any privacy settings.