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Facebook Crosses Line on Privacy ... Again

Recognize that face in an ad? It could be your friend—or you.

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 28, 2009 12:54 PM CDT

(Newser) – Imagine Peter Smith’s surprise when an ad for “hot singles” on Facebook featured a picture of … his wife. The site blames that flap on a third-party company violating policy, but the incident underscores Facebook’s notoriously unclear privacy settings, writes Bob Sullivan for MSNBC: “A hard-to-spot toggle switch grants the firm, by default, permission to use consumers’ information in advertisements to their friends.”

Though a Facebook rep insists this particular setting wouldn’t have saved Smith’s wife from the “rogue” developer who stole her picture, the snafu is yet another entry in the site’s “long and tortured history of attempting highly targeted advertising by mining data and usage habits from users,” and highlights “why consumers need to focus extra attention on privacy settings for all free sites they use.”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A Facebook page. (Facebook)

The Facebook logo. (AP Photo)

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Consumers need to focus extra attention on privacy settings for all free sites. It's difficult, if not impossible, to control what information a company may grant to third parties, and whether or not those third parties will follow agreed-upon rules. - Bob Sullivan

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 10 comments

Snarfeh

Jul 29, 2009 5:29 AM CDT

@2-bits - Such as? No offense to facebookers. I just don't get it. Seriously. I might make fun of it sometimes, but that's just for the humor of it. It's really neither here nor there for me. I don't get using Twitter, either. Hell, I won't even text on my wireless phone, 2-bits, if I can help it. Ya wanna talk at me? Call me. Although I will say technology such as these things are why people are being born with extra thumbs. Your kid has one? Think twice before ya have it removed...it might come in handy...

kokuaguy

Jul 29, 2009 4:07 AM CDT

; ^)

kokuaguy

Jul 29, 2009 4:06 AM CDT

Mahalo, Nwambe, but if this doesn't work, I'll BLAME CANADA.!!! ; ^)

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Facebook Crosses Line on Privacy ... Again