Obama Mandates Facebook for Govt. Access

"Facebook is the most successful social network ever created, and an American-grown institution," said White House spokesperson Avrile Powason. "It's a perfect fit for accessing government services in the 21st century." Powason estimated that the use of Facebook as the exclusive government sign-on method "will save the agencies an estimated $1.3 billion annually during creating thousands of jobs in the private sector."

The new regulations

According to terms of the new regulations, all user account information will become the joint property of Facebook and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. "It's only natural that Facebook users will want the security of knowing their personal data is being safeguarded by the best-of-breed security research provided by the government," Powason said.

Asked what citizens who don't have Facebook accounts should do with respect to the new regulations, she added, "If you don't have a Facebook account, you're not someone who needs online access to government services. The agencies can nevertheless be contacted by telephone, email, and through the U.S. Postal Service."

Writer for Cloud Computing Journal

Roger Strukhoff is a writer for Cloud Computing Journal, Computerworld Philippines, and CloudEcosystem.com. He is founder of Samar Pacific Inc., a publishing services & innovation firm with offices in Illinois and Makati City, Philippines. He can as well be found at www.twitter.com/strukhoff