Description
We examine the relationship among privacy controls, dynamic content-sharing activities, and disclosure patterns of Facebook users based on the exogenous policy change in December 2009 that introduced granular privacy controls. Using a unique large panel dataset, we empirically assess the short-run and long-run effects of the change on wall posting and private messaging and the resulting disclosure patterns based on these sharing activities. Results show that Facebook users, on average, increase use of wall posts and decrease use of private messages after the introduction of granular privacy controls. Also, users’ disclosure patterns change to reflect the increased openness in content sharing. These effects are realized immediately and over time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that relies on observational data to assess the impact of a major privacy change on dynamic content-sharing activities and the resulting disclosure patterns of Facebook users.
Recommended Citation
Airoldi, Edoardo; Cavusoglu, Hasan; Cavusoglu, Huseyin; and Phan, Tuan, "Privacy Controls and Disclosure Behavior" (2015). AMCIS 2015 Proceedings. 34.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2015/ISSecurity/GeneralPresentations/34
Privacy Controls and Disclosure Behavior
We examine the relationship among privacy controls, dynamic content-sharing activities, and disclosure patterns of Facebook users based on the exogenous policy change in December 2009 that introduced granular privacy controls. Using a unique large panel dataset, we empirically assess the short-run and long-run effects of the change on wall posting and private messaging and the resulting disclosure patterns based on these sharing activities. Results show that Facebook users, on average, increase use of wall posts and decrease use of private messages after the introduction of granular privacy controls. Also, users’ disclosure patterns change to reflect the increased openness in content sharing. These effects are realized immediately and over time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that relies on observational data to assess the impact of a major privacy change on dynamic content-sharing activities and the resulting disclosure patterns of Facebook users.