Facebook banned by Ontario government

Doug Powell of KSU passes along this line to a Toronto Star report that the Ontario government has banned the use of Facebook, which is social network site with 21 million users.

The Ontario government is the latest to question employees' need to log into Facebook at work, putting the site behind a firewall that denies them access.
While the government's motives for doing so are unclear, it appears one of the issues is ensuring people aren't wasting time at work.

TK: I have a facebook account that my college-aged son helped me set up, but I've been on the site perhaps five times in six months.

Continuing from the story...

"Facebook is predominately a social network, we understand that; it has its value. I just don't really see how it adds value to the work you do in the workplace," Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty told Toronto Star reporter Kerry Gillespie yesterday.
The site is one of several that have been "rendered inaccessible" to government employees following a routine review, McGuinty explained.
Facebook.com said yesterday it's puzzled by the government's decision to block access to its site.
"We're in contact with provincial officials and hope to resolve this quickly," the company said in a statement.

Facebook indirectly encourages people to chat about work by inviting them to disclose their place of employment and then automatically linking them with registered co-workers, Lublin also wrote. Employers, too, can cross the line. There have been reports in the U.S. of recruiters using Facebook to look into job candidates' personal lives before making a job offer

TK: Facebook officials call their site an "incredibly useful and efficient" way for people to share information with friends and co-workers. More like a guilty pleasure, especially on company time. I've floated the idea the produce industry could use an online social network site, but finding more time to surf the Web probably won't be easy for produce professionals already checking Fresh Talk a couple of times a day. [: