According to Facebook, Independent Audit Finds Their Privacy Practices Acceptable

facebook-security-1After Facebook reached a settlement with federal regulators last year regarding its privacy practices, the site submitted itself for an independent audit review of its privacy issues. Facebook did not admit to any wrongdoing in the settlement, though they did agree to undergo audits for 20 years. The results of the first audit are in, and according to Facebook itself, everything is just fine.

“We’re encouraged by this confirmation that the controls set out in our privacy program are working as intended,” said Erin Egan, Facebook’s chief privacy officer. “This assessment has also helped us identify areas to work on as Facebook continues to evolve as a company, and improve upon the privacy protections we already have in place. We will keep working to meet the changing and evolving needs of our users and to put user privacy and security at the center of everything we do.”

Facebook submitted the findings of the audit to the Federal Trade Commission on Monday, though a version of the auditor’s letter that was sent to the AP had information redacted. (It’s assumed that Facebook redacted the information that could be potentially harmful or expose any flaws uncovered by the audit.) It’s a good thing that Facebook is being held accountable for its privacy practices by the FTC, though it looks unlikely that the general public will be privy to any flaws uncovered by the site’s auditors.