Facebook and MySpace In Ad Data Privacy Loophole

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Facebook and MySpace In Ad Data Privacy Loophole

engine

11:24 am on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

Facebook and MySpace In Ad Data Privacy Loophole [online.wsj.com]

Facebook, MySpace and several other social-networking sites have been sending data to advertising companies that could be used to find consumers' names and other personal details, despite promises they don't share such information without consent.The practice, which most of the companies defended, sends user names or ID numbers tied to personal profiles being viewed when users click on ads. After questions were raised by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook and MySpace moved to make changes. By Thursday morning Facebook had rewritten some of the offending computer code.

frontpage

11:29 am on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

If you use Adblock Plus, NoScript, and Hostsman, you will never see an ad that violates your privacy.

graeme_p

12:17 pm on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

If you use Adblock Plus, NoScript, and Hostsman, you will never see an ad that violates your privacy.

If everyone used them a lot of people here would not make a living.

Incidentally, with Facebook ads, they are being served from their own server, so it would be easy enough to work around Ad Blockers.

ChanandlerBong

1:29 pm on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

their ads are easily identifiable with css classes so I think you could block them pretty easily.

Alcoholico

2:15 pm on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

If you never use the Internet, you will never see an ad that violates your privacy.
However, that's not the point or a solution. The point is these companies do whatever they want disregarding completely users rights and they'll keep doing it, to stop the trend we need fines, massive fines. Nowadays all of these companies want to collect users data without any regard to users rights, when they're caught they just say "Sorry, it was a mistake" and get away with it. Huge fines, that's what they deserve and the way to stop them for good.

aleksl

2:36 pm on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

Alcoholico, supposedly you can fine CIA data mining operation (Facebook) for violating your privacy? :)

You need to stand up and fight for yourselves...the heck is wrong with this country?

StoutFiles

2:52 pm on May 21, 2010 (gmt 0)

If you use Adblock Plus, NoScript, and Hostsman, you will never see an ad that violates your privacy.

I would rather sites like Facebook not sell information to ad companies rather than everyone on the web block ads. Without ads we would have a subscription based web.

frontpage

5:38 pm on May 22, 2010 (gmt 0)

If everyone used them a lot of people here would not make a living.

I don't think the public has a problem with ads per se.

It just that the public no longer trust publishers and ad providers to respect their privacy and thus will no longer play the game any longer.

Why do think that these ad blocking programs, Tor, and account deletions on Facebook exist?

graeme_p

5:56 pm on May 22, 2010 (gmt 0)

@Chandler, that is true for the moment, but if ad blocking because widespread they could easily change that.