Pros and Cons of Privacy by Default: Investigating the Impact on Users and Providers of Social Network Sites

Based on actual experimental findings, we present a new line of argumentation about the chances, risks and effects of a Privacy by Default regulation for users and providers of Social Network Sites (SNS). We describe three important factors that have an impact on the utility provided by SNS and measure their change through opposing status quo. On empirical grounds, the results challenge the widely accepted assumption that restrictive default privacy settings cause overly negative consequences for providers.