Facebook Problem Is Fixed; Read Only Mode--Maintenance Temporarily Disabled Status Updates; Privacy Rules Justified

Don't panic. Status can be updated now. The party just started for Facebook users 18 and below.

Millions of Facebook users who make it a habit to let everyone know that they're out of bed received this rude awakening: "Couldn't Update Status. There was a problem updating your status. Please try again in a few minutes."

The explanation did not come too far behind: "Earlier this morning, while performing some network maintenance, we experienced an issue that prevented some users from posting to Facebook for a brief period of time," said a spokesperson.

"We resolved the issue quickly, and we are now back to 100%. We're sorry for any inconvenience we may have caused." The inconvenience of not letting everyone know which flavor of syrup you used on your pancake seemed unforgivable for some.

For some serious Facebook problems, the social media juggernaut is standing firm on its policy to allow users below 18 years old (they are certainly not the minority here) to post incriminating information (such as their current location) and videos of whatever nature.

The company justified their action since they have tightened the sharing scope-from 'friends of friends' whom the person might not directly know, to just their 'friends.' However, it is just a default setting and teenagers(who)  are expert at controlling who they share things with" can change that.

The company also points out that they have introduced "additional tools to help educate teens on the implications of sharing a post with a public audience, with reminders as they post."

"This means they have to make a conscious choice before they share publicly. When teens choose 'public' in the audience selector, they'll see a reminder that the post can be seen by anyone, not just people they know, with an option to change the post's privacy.

"We think it is better that teens can choose to share publicly on Facebook than spend time elsewhere on the web where safety tools and resources are limited."

Comparing themselves to Twitter, Instagram (owned by Facebook) and Google Plus, where privacy settings are the same no matter what the user's age is, Facebook considers itself as secure.  Some, such as Twitter, don't even ask how old a new member is. However, Facebook requires the user's real name. Other sites don't.

Obviously they have to be able to compete with Twitter. The gap between them has narrowed considerably.