Germany Says 'Nein' to Facebook's Friend Finder

Privacy concerns forces Facebook to change invitation feature
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 24, 2011 2:43 AM CST
Germany Says 'Nein' to Privacy-Buster Facebook App
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg speaking on Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, Calif. in October.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Score one for Germany in its face-off with Facebook. Facebook has agreed to drop its controversial "Friend Finder" feature, which allows the social networking site to access users' address books and send invitations to the people in them. "For many, it wasn't clear at all how Facebook could know that they knew certain members of the social network in real life," said a data protection manager in Germany.

Facebook has instead agreed to provide a more transparent interface for users when they import addresses, allowing them to choose who gets a Facebook invitation, reports Der Spiegel.

(More Facebook stories.)

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