Facebook Jumps The Shark With IPO, Privacy Backlash

User backlash against Facebook’s ever-evolving but always overreaching data privacy plans is almost as old as the site itself. But there’s good reason to believe that 2012 will mark a turning point for the fast growing social network. For one thing, Facebook is on track for an IPO (initial public offering), possibly before the end of 2011. Valuations for the 800 million person social network range as high as $100 billion in private markets. With an IPO looming, Facebook is under more pressure than ever to generate outsized revenue from its massive, 800 million strong user base.

User backlash against Facebook’s ever-evolving but always overreaching data privacy plans is almost as old as the site itself. But there’s good reason to believe that 2012 will mark a turning point for the fast growing social network. For one thing, Facebook is on track for an IPO (initial public offering), possibly before the end of 2011. Valuations for the 800 million person social network range as high as $100 billion in private markets. With an IPO looming, Facebook is under more pressure than ever to generate outsized revenue from its massive, 800 million strong user base. Queue the new revenue opportunities – and the user backlash against privacy invasions.In fact, tensions over Facebook’s increasingly creepy designs on user data have already flared. Security experts have long charged the company is far too willing to expand sharing opportunities without considering the need for security and user control.

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