Busted: Facebook Gave Advertisers Names And Ages Of People Who Clicked Ads

[MNeagle]

Busted: Facebook Gave Advertisers Names And Ages Of People Who Clicked Ads

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-myspace-busted-for-telling-advertisers-which-specific-users-clicked-on-ads-2010-5#ixzz0oZLORuUR



Facebook and MySpace sent advertisers code that identified which specific users were clicking on ads, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing a report at AT&T Labs and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

In some cases, advertisers were able to view these users' names, ages, hometowns and occupations.

The report was published last August, but Facebook only re-wrote its code to stop sending the information after the WSJ contacted the company for today's story.

"We were recently made aware of one case where if a user takes a specific route on the site, advertisers may see that they clicked on their own profile and then clicked on an ad," a Facebook spokesman told the WSJ.

"We fixed this case as soon as we heard about it."

Obviously, this is not pleasant news for Facebook, which just keeps on getting slapped around by the media over privacy issues. Lawmakers have petitioned the FTC over some of the problems.

This is bad behavoir from Facebook, but we doubt it'll get punished for it. Right or wrong, we don't think Facebook users care about these kinds of issues enough to quit Facebook over them.



http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-myspace-busted-for-telling-advertisers-which-specific-users-clicked-on-ads-2010-5#ixzz0oZLYsKOZ

[k-os]

Anyone who participates in online social networking (except for GSUS, of course :o), is either completely OK with corporations/government knowing about every click and every friend they have, or stupid . . . or both.

I know people who participate in facebook, etc., and I have discussed privacy issues with them. They know me, respect my opinion and even believe me when I tell them about the data mining that exists. They don't care.

That is shocking for many of us to comprehend, but it's true. They've sold their personal information for the chance to see what scandal the prom queen has gotten herself into now or to get "updates" about what their friends had for dinner. It's lame, and I don't participate myself, but as much as I can gather, these people feel important somehow sharing every mundane detail of their lives. They believe (and correctly it seems) that because they keep track of what so-and-so is doing, that others are getting off on reading about their dull lives.

It makes them feel like their lives matter, so that they don't actually have to do anything that matters.

[Awoke]

Thanks for posting this article!

[Ares]

I never started a facebook, or Myspace page.. Suckers!!!! LOL

[TPTB]

Anyone who participates in online social networking (except for GSUS, of course :o), is either completely OK with corporations/government knowing about every click and every friend they have, or stupid . . . or both.

I know people who participate in facebook, etc., and I have discussed privacy issues with them. They know me, respect my opinion and even believe me when I tell them about the data mining that exists. They don't care.

That is shocking for many of us to comprehend, but it's true. They've sold their personal information for the chance to see what scandal the prom queen has gotten herself into now or to get "updates" about what their friends had for dinner. It's lame, and I don't participate myself, but as much as I can gather, these people feel important somehow sharing every mundane detail of their lives. They believe (and correctly it seems) that because they keep track of what so-and-so is doing, that others are getting off on reading about their dull lives.

It makes them feel like their lives matter, so that they don't actually have to do anything that matters.


A+++ You nailed it k-os...

[I am me, I am free]

A lot of folks don't get it - those are HUMAN RESOURCES to be exploited by the corporate state. Human resources exist SOLELY(!) to service the corporate state.

[1970 Silver Art]

Yep. I am a stupid sucker. Bummer for me. :D :D ;D

I have a Facebook account. I do not get on it that much but I mainly use it to chat with people that I went to high school with. I do not plan to delete my FB account.

[k-os]

Yep. I am a stupid sucker. Bummer for me. :D :D ;D

I have a Facebook account. I do not get on it that much but I mainly use it to chat with people that I went to high school with. I do not plan to delete my FB account.


I don't think you are stupid. I think you know the situation, and you don't care. There's a difference.

[1970 Silver Art]

Yep. I am a stupid sucker. Bummer for me. :D :D ;D

I have a Facebook account. I do not get on it that much but I mainly use it to chat with people that I went to high school with. I do not plan to delete my FB account.


I don't think you are stupid. I think you know the situation, and you don't care. There's a difference.


Yeah you are right Chaos. Speaking of FB, I just finished chatting on FB with a female that was an old HS classmate of mine. I must have chatted with her for about 2 hours.

[k-os]

Yeah you are right Chaos. Speaking of FB, I just finished chatting on FB with a female that was an old HS classmate of mine. I must have chatted with her for about 2 hours.


That's progress. ;)

[1970 Silver Art]

Yeah you are right Chaos. Speaking of FB, I just finished chatting on FB with a female that was an old HS classmate of mine. I must have chatted with her for about 2 hours.


That's progress. ;)


I like chatting with people that I used to go to HS with. I have not seen most of my HS classmates in almost 17 years since everybody lives in different parts of the U.S. Once I got my FB account, a lot of HS classmates found me and once I became friends with them, then I started chatting with a few of them. With that said, I do not get on FB that much because I spend a lot of time here on GSUS. After all, GSUS is my "online home". ;D

[steveoc]

Good find - thanks for posting.

What staggers me most about this though is that the MSM is treating this information as 'news'. So FB creates additional value for advertisers by collating information surrendered by it's subscribers at the time of clicking on a link .... ummm ... DUH ....


Seriously though, I hate FB with a passion - especially the moronic crowds that flock to it like moths to a flame .. and build their empty lives around it.

There is nothing wrong with creating an account on there to touch base with long lost mates, or even to track down an old flame and see if there are still some coals smouldering under the ashes. Nothing wrong with that. But anyone with half a brain must realise that FB is a commercial venture that makes its money by selling information - information voluntarily surrendered by it's subscribers.

One good thing to come out of FB is some of the open source development projects that they give back to the (development) community. The HipHop compiler is one good example of that ....