Internet privacy: identity.com
You might have written off the fuss about Facebook over the past few months as essentially technical: nerds fighting nerds, arguing over the default settings on a website. If only it were that trivial. Technology is certainly part of it, but fundamentally the Facebook story is about how people present themselves to different audiences, and what societies should do about companies that dominate their markets.
As anyone who hasn't just relocated from Mars knows, Facebook is the biggest social-network website in the world, used by more than 400 million people to share gossip, party invitations and drunken photos with their friends. And it was for friends' eyes only, according to the service's early, solemn promise. That changed down the years so that by the start of last week Facebook members had to go through a fiddly procedure to keep their details from being seen by strangers and businesses.
