Facebook can’t seem to get itself out of hot water when it comes to all this user privacy stuff. A German privacy group, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, is fining the social network for some of its practices, namely its methods around opt-in features that are becoming standards on Facebook. The problem at hand? Facebook’s invitation and address-book sync, which uploads and stores contact info from email and mobile contact lists.

For Facebook, it’s a friend-finding system that keeps pertinant information for when those potential emails do turn into users. It’s not entirely different from methods used by other social networks, as these sites rely on the constant interaction of its users to maintain relevance and revenues.

As far as Facebook is concerned, the need to monetize our social interactions sometimes comes at a cost, for users and the social network. The Germany-based special interest group has given Facebook until August 11 to respond to the charges, taking a rather hard-nosed approach. From PCWorld,

Many citizens of the German state of Hamburg have complained in recent months of Facebook passing their contact information to third parties and storing information about their relationships in this way, according to Johannes Caspar, head of the state’s data protection service.

Such storage of data by third parties is “inadmissible” because of its implications for data protection, he said.

While Facebook has already begun to address the growing concerns around user privacy and opt-in/-out default settings, it will be some time before privacy advocates let up. Looking at Facebook’s development on the mobile front, I can’t see the struggle getting any easier for either side any time soon. As Facebook utilizes smartphone capabilities in its effort to provide more ways to manage your social interactions, more privacy settings will likely be compromised.

For most smartphone users, an install of the Facebook app means contacts are auto-synced and updated on your phone. Better yet, many smartphones are coming pre-installed with sync-ready Facebook apps. It makes life easier in many ways, with phone numbers, email addresses and profile photos being automatically ported to the phone, especially as the current consumer needs around smartphones seek to decrease set-up and maintenance time. But will such automation only lead to more privacy issues for Facebook?

Most likely. More mobile apps will seek ways to use your Facebook information to help you manage everything, from shopping lists to baby showers. The demand is giving Facebook more opportunities to tap into our personal data for the purpose of benefiting us all. The interests for Facebook and businesses that market through the network will become more blurred and intertwined. This will plant a good amount of responsibility on the user, as they determine when, where and how they would like to interact with Facebook, though finding the best way to warm users up to such ideas has been a long and toilsome road for the social network.