Facebook has recently changed user's privacy settings to switch on technology that automatically identifies people on the social network site.  But what's the fuss about?

Google has been using a variation on its own Picasa system for over a year but it has added fuel to the fire by suggesting that it would not consider "crossing the creepy line" when it comes to implementing advances in facial recognition technology.  

The technology uses facial recognition technology to analyse photographs of users then asks Facebook friends to "tag" (name) them.  The issue however is that Facebook does not give its 500 million users the ability of not being tagged in the same way.  Users who find their images "tagged" online have to manually "untag" themselves after the photographs have been posted online.

Sophos, the internet security company published a report this week showing that Facebook had rolled out to the entire world in the past few days the system which was introduced in the United States at the back end of last year.  "Yet again, its feels like Facebook is eroding the online privacy of its user by stealth" wrote Graham Cluley a senior analyst in the company blog.

Ok.  So why is this a massive fuss?  Whilst you can uncheck the privacy setting on your profile page so that it won't "suggest to people to tag you if your are in one of their photos", the main issue is that its on by default.  Privacy advocates state that users should have to opt in to such features rather than have to opt out.

Whilst I can see this opinion and I do agree that Facebook is marching on without stopping to ask its users first, the issue is with the underlying need in the west to "record" every moment of their daily lives.  Its a habit that has grown to the point of obsession that feeds the companies who profit off our inate ability to walk away from car crashes.  It is only when people start to loose interest that organisations listen.  Today everyone complains about Pay per view television but without Sky we'd still be complaining about the lack of live football.

Obviously there are the harbringers of doom that still believe Facebook, Google and Twitter are NSA outlets designed to monitor the mass public and whilst the Big Brother scenario is developed a little each month by these players as they try to integrate themselves more into our lives, it is only because of our need to tell each other how we are doing.  At the end of the day whilst I don't advocate wearing tin foil on your head to keep them from intercepting your thoughts I do believe the solution, if you are that worried is simple.  Close down your Facebook page.  It's really quite simple.  And yes, life will still go on.