I'm told, by the way, that this may be the first time Twitter, Inc has appeared before *any* government committee *ever*. #ETHI is special!
Also, NDP MP and #ETHI member @AlexBoulerice wants the twitterverse to send him questions for Twitter, Inc on privacy issues. Even meta-er!
I can report that Twitter legal counsel Laura #Pirri has arrived! Apparently, she had an impromptu tour of the precinct while en route.
I wish. @DerekStrelioff: @kady I assume "Please save Old Tweetdeck!" wouldn't be a valid question. #ETHI
And with that, we're off - the chair gavels in the meeting, and hands the floor to #Pirri. Let's talk social media and privacy!
Don't worry, I'll spare you all the "So, what *is* this 'twitter' thing?" intro. #ETHI
#Pirri notes that Twitter has been used by everyone from persecuted Chinese artists to the RCMP -- it's people telling stories, every day.
At this point, Twitter is just so ubiquitous that it almost seems unnecessary to explain what it is, and why it's important. #ETHI
#Pirri, however, does her best to sum up this "global town square" that is the 'verse.
Now, onto the specific issue under discussion today: privacy, from the twitterspective. #ETHI
#Pirri makes the (important) point that very little personal info is required to set up a Twitter account: you can use a fake name, even.
She points out that users can *also* choose to make tweets private, although most don't, since it's antithetical to the very concept. #ETHI
RT @CanadaKaz: @kady Can you please thank #Pirri for all that they do. Great product. An inspiration to everyone who is trying to change ...
#Pirri goes into some detail on location-revealing tweets, which, she stresses, has to be activated, and can be removed anytime.
#Pirri now moves to what I vaguely recall was a Bit of a Thing, as far as privacy fretting: the introduction of "follow" suggestions.
#Pirri notes that they were very excited at being able to offer *better* suggestions for who to follow, but *also* wanted to protect users.
That led to the creation of a do-not-track option that allowed users to opt out of those enhanced data collection features. #ETHI
#Pirri notes that not only does Twitter have no employees in Canada, but this is the company's first visit *as* Twitter, Inc. ! #ETHI
With that, the chair thanks #Pirri for her presentation. On to questions, starting with notorious twitter-quitter Charlie Angus. #ETHI
Angus brings up Lord McAlpine's broadside threat to sue thousands of twitter users, many of which were anonymous accounts. #ETHI