Is any Internet user every fully protected? In October 2010 The Wall Street Journal exposed Facebook claiming that the networking site was providing the names of users and their friends to advertisers and Internet tracking companies without permission. The Journal said the information was obtained through the use of the applications used on the networking site. Over 70% of Facebook users are active users of applications. The key issue with this spread of information was that even those who set their profiles to the strictest privacy setting were affected. This issue was a breach of privacy and raises the concern of the security features within Facebook.
Privacy is an enormous issue on the Internet and constantly growing. The government has begun to crack down on companies’ information databases and how this information is collected. Facebook, being the largest social networking website, is one of the biggest targets for invasions of privacy. In response to the Wall Street Journals claims, a Facebook spokesman said they were working to dramatically limit the exposure of their users’ information. A Facebook official also stated, "Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in control of their information."
Over the past couple of years, applications on Facebook have driven great traffic to the website with over 500 million users. There are 10,000 applications on Facebook and the number keeps growing. An insider at the Journal found that it was the 10 most popular applications that were being used to transmit information. The top three apps, with over 59 million users, include: Farmville, Texas HoldEm Poker, and Frontierville. Facebook applications are developed by independent software companies and after the website was exposed many of the applications were made unavailable to users.
Facebook tracks its members through ID numbers. The Journal revealed that the website sent member’s Facebook IDs to over 25 advertising and data firms that were tracking user activity. Although the IDs remained anonymous, one of the firms RapLeaf Inc was using the information for revenue and was selling the information to other companies as well. RapLeaf claims that the company’s transmission of the user ids was unintentional. In response to RapLeaf’s actions Facebook has promised to limit RapLeafs use and access to “Facebook-related data.”
This is not the first privacy issue or breach Facebook has encountered. Last Spring Facebook was exposed for transmitting user information to advertisers whenever a user clicked on an advertisement on the website. After being called out Facebook put an end to the tracking. In efforts to increase website security on October 6, 2010 Facebook made it accessible for users to view what information of theirs was shared through the applications they used. Facebook informed users which apps were accessing their basic information. In June the networking site limited apps to accessing only user’s public information after being investigated by the Canadian Privacy Commissioner. Before, applications could access member’s detailed profiles and their friends. Facebook officials say they have taken immediate action to disable all applications that violate their policies. All 12 companies that the Journal claims collected user information claim to not have used it.
Privacy settings are supposed to make a user feel more comfortable using a website. However, when a user sets their profiles to the highest security settings and their information is still being shard a problem arises. In an age where future employers and government officials are concerned about Internet activity, a users personal privacy is at great risk. However, one must wonder if journalists are making a bigger deal out of these privacy breaches than needed? Do daily Facebook and Internet users really care that they are being tracked? So what if your Facebook advertisements are targeted towards your likes? Does it really hurt? But when is it going to cross the line? As a daily Internet user, I have yet to see the negative effects of being tracked by Facebook or other websites I utilize.
FACEBOOK PRIVACY SETTING FOR DUMMIES:
Sources
http://www.pcworld.com/article/208058/facebook_privacy_fail_apps_leak_private_info_report.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558484075236968.html
