Mark Zuckerberg thought the IMs were private, but the terms changed.

If true, he was a dumb fuck.

Jokingly, at 19, when referring to a project so much smaller than Facebook that it was really a different thing.

Whatever you think about Facebook's privacy policies, this particular quote doesn't prove much.

This post is an instance of linkbait meets lynchmob. I think we'll let that predictable conversation happen elsewhere.

I agree on it not meaning much but let's not kid ourselves either. If you even joke about people being stupid for putting their trust in you than you probably aren't trustworthy. I had access to a pretty significant amount of user data when I was 19 too and I would have never joked about revealing it.

Really? I can excuse just about anything if it's really a joke. I would so not want to be held accountable for the literal meaning of my friends' and my typical banter.

Cut Zuck a break. We are humans. We say stuff we don't necessarily mean. I am sure you can find equivalent off the record conversations from Gates, Ellison or anyone big name poking fun at how much power they have and how they could abuse it if they chose. To go back to when he was 19 and pull this out makes it even more ridiculous.

He's still saying the same thing, just more eloquently now.

I see two basic truths here that make this comment seem irrelevant to me...

1. Users shouldn't put anything into Facebook that they wouldn't be willing to make public. Because even if Facebook never betrays your trust someone in your circle of friends surely could (Ever have a former lover turn into an enemy after a breakup?)

2. I don't doubt Zuckerberg still feels this way but it doesn't really matter. Because regardless of how he feels the economic future of his company is tied to being trusted by the consumer. So I think he'd share your secrets in a second if it was just about personal integrity but I don't think he'll risk billions of dollars to do so.

well, aren't they?