Re: Lol people from bos mentioned in smh article
It's a public place. You chose to post information here, It's in the interest of the public to know. If you want privacy then don't post personal information or better more don't post at all, if you do not want your comments read or broadcasted by other people/organisations/companies. When posting a comment on any website / forum, treat it in relation to the thought, "What if I was personally identified one day by this alias, would I want my mother to know this?". Everything you do online can be eventually traced back to you, as data is recorded all the time on various servers and an individual usually types in the same tone/style on various sites.
As with the Facebook issue. They actually do own your personal data as you give consent for them to actually store it. Data is managed, moderated and stored by them. You accept these terms and conditions when you join. FB is also a public place (the whole internet is).