Photo Sharing Keeps on Giving

According to a study out of University of Cambridge, a small experiment on 16 social-networking, blogging, and photo-sharing Web sites found that most failed to remove image files from their photo servers after they were deleted from the main Web site. “It’s often feared that once data is uploaded into ‘the cloud,’ it’s impossible to tell how many backup copies may exist and where, and this provides clear proof that content delivery networks are a major problem for data remanence,” writes the authors. The study reports that five of the 16 sites failed to revoke photos after 30 days. Notes the authors: “This paradigm is usually reflected in sites’ Terms of Service, which often give leeway to retain copies for a ‘reasonable period of time.’ Facebook is actually quite explicit about this, stating that ‘when you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer.’”