Biola, Big Brother is watching.

With another slew of Facebook privacy policies having been changed this year, and probably another batch on the way, one is left utterly confused and asking, “What’s the big deal?”

Plenty. In the past half-dozen years, as the Internet has developed and the Facebook audience has grown to over 460 million, Facebook has seemingly lifted more of its privacy policies.

Now, not only does every current user have his or her settings changed to the current default, but every new user unknowingly agrees to allow nearly all their information to be viewable by the general public.

Facebook responded to the criticism when their vice president for public policy, Elliot Schrage, told the New York Times that Facebook can’t win. “It’s criticized for not allowing enough control if the privacy settings are simple and it is criticized for being too confusing when it allows more granular control.”

Give me a break. Who in their right mind wants the whole world to be able to see where they currently live, who their family is, where they’re from, what they believe in, when they were born, their e-mail, websites, and phone numbers? In fact, for those that access Facebook via an app such as the one for iPhone, their number is automatically posted online.

We know that, at the end of the day, those who want information will find it. If you don’t believe me, Google your name in quotation marks. You’ll be surprised that more than likely you’ll find a page with your name posted for some reason: sports stats, theater performances, academic achievements, etc.

I prefer that Facebook doesn’t make it any easier. I’m a firm believer that as technology grows, the world grows a bit darker. Now don’t don’t get me wrong; I’m a proud owner of an iPhone, a MacBook Pro, and the like. However, I’m also well aware that there are creepers out there who would like nothing more than for you and your friends to post all the information you can. You never know what can happen in the world, and it’s better safe than sorry.

Obviously, be careful. You don’t want your phone number broadcast across the Internet. There are plenty of other ways to tell people where your party is or how to get hold of you.

You can’t completely protect yourself –– but you can fight Facebook back at their own game.