(Image source: Daily Mail)

BY MARIA LOPEZ

ANCHOR CHANCE SEALES

You're watching multisource tech video news analysis from Newsy.

Facebook is facing one of its biggest fears again: government regulation. A proposed bill in the California state would make social network settings private by default, stop personal data from being displayed without consent and give more control to parents.

WFXT: “A new bill could force Facebook and other social networking sites to allow parents to police their children’s pages or face fines up to $10,000. California bill, also known as the Social Networking Privacy Act would require ----sites to carefully monitor information on those pages of users younger than 18. It would also allow the parents to demand the site take down whatever they deem unsuitable for their child.“

But Facebook hasn’t kept tight lipped. It is now leading a squad of 17 companies and trade groups including Google, the Internet Alliance, Match.com, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo and Zynga, to try to shoot the bill down.

Executive director of the Internet Alliance Tommy Cota says the bill is actually counterproductive.

“The bill would force users to make decisions about privacy and visibility of all information well before they even used the service for the first time, and in such a manner that they are less likely to pay attention and process the information.”

Likewise - Tech News World thinks it is unnecessary and fears it could open the door for more government interference.

“Like all online sites, Facebook is not perfect -- and it has lost serious face after its attempt to smear Google -- but it won't be better after state bureaucrats get their hands on it. And once they do, they may not be willing to let go.”

On the other hand, many parents worry about cyber space safety: what information their kids are putting out there and who is seeing it. PC World argues though the bill might make the social network operations more difficult, it might not be such a bad idea.

“Restricting what social networks can do with your home address and telephone number without your explicit consent is a good idea considering Facebook's recent attempt to open up your home address to third-party developers.”

What seems clear though, according to Net Magazine, is that if the bill is passed, it’s likely to spread beyond California’s borders.

“With privacy being a thorny issue and the bill running with the ‘think of the children’ angle, it’s possible federal legislation may be the ultimate result of SB 242, which could impact social networking on a global scale, given that where the US leads, other countries often follow.”

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