Facebook: We Spend More Time and Resources Thinking About Privacy Than Any Other Company in the World

During his keynote interview TechCrunch‘s editor Michael Arrington at LeWeb10 in Paris this morning, Facebook’s director for the company’s developer network Ethan Beard noted that “no other company in the world currently spends us much time and resources on privacy as Facebook.” He also categorically denied the existence of a Facebook phone.

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No Facebook Phone

Asked about the mythical Facebook phone, Beard noted that he could categorically deny that it exists. Instead, Facebook is more interested in working with partners to integrate Facebook into other phones and platforms. Windows Phone 7, being a phone that features a deep integration with Facebook, is a viable platform, according to Beard, though Microsoft’s own Charlie Kindel refused to provide the LeWeb audience with exact sales numbers earlier today.

Privacy

Asked about the public perception of Facebook as an “evil” company that often disrespects its users privacy, Beard noted that Facebook wants to give its users control. Facebook’s users, Beard pointed out, has a different definition of the level of privacy and Facebook wants to give them control over their own settings. According to Bear, “no other company in the world currently spends us much time and resources on privacy as Facebook.”

Why are Googlers Defecting to Facebook?

Arrington also asked Beard about the fact that a lot of Google employees are defecting to Facebook and other companies today. Google, according to Beard, is not the same company it used to be a few years ago. “It’s not exactly a fast-flying high-growth company anymore,” Beard said. On the other hand, “what’s going on at Facebook right now is really, really excited,” he noted. What Facebook does, said Beard, will change how people will use the Internet in the coming years.

The Facebook Platform

Talking about the Facebook platform, Beard pointed out that 250 million Internet users now use Facebook Connect. Some of the biggest partners for Facebook there are Bing, Pandora, AOL, Yahoo and other large web properties. “Everything should be using Facebook,” Beard said without a lot of irony in his voice.

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