Facebook Faces Backlash for Making It Hard to Leave

Facebook users were very unhappy in 2008 when they realized that it was nearly impossible to remove their information from the social network. One user reported that it took “two months and several e-mail exchanges with Facebook’s user service representatives to erase most of his information from the site.” The lack of easy and effective deletion procedures led to anger from Facebook’s users, and many bloggers encouraged users to delete accounts and posted detailed instructions of how to do so. To stem the tide of criticism, Facebook modified its settings and provided straightforward instructions for users who wish to delete their accounts.