Facebook's top security exec urges company to collect less user data

Facebook's outgoing top security executive has urged others at the company to do some soul searching about practices that have led to a number of privacy and security scandals.

Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos, who is set to depart the company next month, sent a wide-ranging note to Facebook staffers in March, when his upcoming departure was revealed. That note, which was published by BuzzFeed Tuesday, contains some remarkably candid advice on how the company needs to make more of an effort to not collect data.

"We need to build a user experience that conveys honesty and respect, not one optimized to get people to click yes to giving us more access," Stamos, who has a reputation as one of the company's top privacy advocates internally, wrote in the note. "We need to intentionally not collect data where possible, and to keep it only as long as we are using it to serve people." Read more...