By now, everyone has heard about Instagram’s issues with PR, and the amount of user outbreak that the company’s privacy policy changes caused. Instagram has been having quite a nasty battle with anger from users, and so far they have done quite a bit in the way of remedying the situation. They have made one or two changes, which eventually led to a total reversion to their old privacy terms, and made a formal apology to the Instagram user base. However, it seems that this has not stopped the anger that users have been exerting, so bigger fish had to step in to help.

Facebook, Instagram’s new owner, has refused to say much regarding the problems Instagram has been dealing with. However, one spokesman did release a statement after a complaint included in a potential lawsuit, and in it he said:

“We believe this complaint is without merit and we will fight it vigorously.”

However, it seems that this problem is not what is currently on the top of the list in Mark Zuckerberg’s brain as of right now. Although there will be assistance from Facebook in the future with Instagram’s many expected lawsuits to come, Facebook executives have their own new privacy issues to worry about.

The most interesting part of it all is what has caused the privacy issues. A photo that was posted on Facebook, thought to be posted privately, has been shared to Twitter by Twitter by Director of Marketing and Projects at Vox Media Inc., Callie Shweitzer. The picture was actually a picture of Mark Zuckerberg himself, along with his entire family, trying out the new Poke feature on Facebook. It was posted by Mark Zuckerberg’s sister, Randi Zuckerberg, and even though she is the sister of the creator of Facebook, she was still made uneasy when her photo was shared without permission.

After thinking about it a bit, Randi posted to Twitter about the issue, saying:

Digital etiquette: always ask permission before posting a friend’s photo publicly. It’s not about privacy settings, it’s about human decency

When asked what made her post this statement, she wrote:

I think people often forget that there is a human on the other end of a post or Tweet! Sometimes they need reminding

I can only assume that this issue that has been introduced to the public by Zuckerberg’s sister is not over. With complaints, though light, coming from the sister of the man who created Facebook, the issues in Facebook’s privacy policies may have a bit more light shone onto them for the public.

Therefore, Facebook marketing may be becoming a bit of a fragile practice in the next few weeks or so. With privacy issues coming to light with a few of Facebook’s social networks, marketers may have to do a bit of tip toeing to stay away from any of the backlash that has been taking place. For now, marketers should try to keep their social marketing with Facebook smooth and safe, to avoid a bumpy road that could come ahead.

Written by Michael Levanduski

Michael Levanduski is a news reporter at Performance Marketing Insider. He’s been a writer at one level or another for the past 15+ years. He has three kids and lives in Grand Rapids, MI.

There are three comments. Join the discussion.