Facebook backlash over sale of personal data
Saturday, 24 November 2007
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Growing unrest among the users of social networking website members could turn into a full-blown rebellion as they demand greater control over the way their personal information is marketed in cyberspace.
Following weeks of discontent on group discussion boards on Facebook, one of world's biggest internet sites, it is facing a privacy backlash organised by the US-based online democracy watchdog, MoveOn.
Thousands of American Facebook members have signed a petition calling on the website to remove a new advertising program called Facebook Beacon, which can be used to track the spending habits of Facebook users on external websites.
On Thursday, Britain's information watchdog warned millions of young people of the dangers posed to their privacy by using such sites. It found that 4.5 million people aged 14 to 21 had posted information on the internet which could make them vulnerable to identity fraud or blight their future careers.
Confidence in the Government's ability to protect sensitive information suffered a blow this week when the Treasury was forced to admit that HM Revenue & Customs had lost two computer discs containing the banking and personal data of 25 million people.
Concerns about the privacy of information kept on government databases have also been raised by the European Commission. A commission report published yesterday warned public bodies that they needed to do more to ensure the trust of their citizens, who are being encouraged to use online government services.
Ten companies, including the entertainment group Blockbuster and STA Travel, have signed up to the Facebook scheme, which advertises their brands by exposing details of purchases made by Facebook members to friends who are also members of Facebook.
Facebook has said the scheme can be used outside the US, depending on which countries the partner company wishes to advertise in.
Unlike most Facebook applications for which users have to "opt in", Beacon works automatically unless a user clicks on a pop-up box to refuse consent for their details being released.
MoveOn described the scheme as a "huge privacy violation". It has paid Facebook to advertise a "protest group" on the site, and an online petition to encourage the company to change its policy. More than 10,000 Facebook members have already joined the protest group.
"Facebook users across the nation are outraged that the books, movies and gifts they buy privately on other sites are being displayed without permission to lots of people. Facebook needs to reverse this massive privacy breach," said a spokesman for MoveOn.org.
"Facebook and similar sites have the potential to revolutionise how we speak to each other in our society. When people see their privacy violated, it sullies the entire thing." Facebook rejected the claims, saying the group was "misrepresenting" how Beacon worked. "Information is shared with a small selection of a user's trusted network of friends, not publicly on the Web or with all Facebook users," it added. "Users also are given multiple ways to choose not to share information from a participating site, both on that site and on Facebook."
STA Travel said it had no plans to use Beacon in Britain, while Blockbuster declined to comment.
On Thursday, the office of the Information Commissioner warned computer users not to give personal information to social networking and other sites. David Smith, deputy commissioner at the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said: "Many young people are posting content online without thinking about the electronic footprint they leave behind. The cost to a person's future can be very high if something undesirable is found by the increasing number of education institutions and employers using the internet as a tool to vet potential students or employees."
ICO researchers found that a third of young people had never read privacy policies on social networking sites and did not understand how they could manage their personal information. Yet an overwhelming 95 per cent of respondents to the survey said they were worried about website operators using their details to target advertising at them, or to pass the data to other websites or companies.
