Facebook Plan to Monitor User Web Browsing Rouses Alarm

[Purveyor]

By Todd Shields and Sarah Frier Jul 29, 2014 11:17 AM ET

The U.S. should investigate whether Facebook Inc. (FB)’s tracking of users’ Web browsing activities violates an agreement with the government to ensure people’s privacy, an advocacy group said.

Facebook, the biggest social networking site, began monitoring the Web habits of its users following a June 12 announcement. That’s contrary to the company’s prior representations, according to a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission by Kostas Rossoglou, senior legal officer of the European Consumer Organization and Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

The non-governmental organizations, joined in a grouping they call the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, petitioned the FTC to open a probe into Facebook’s practices. Facebook last month said it would try to deliver more targeted advertising by viewing what its users do on sites other than Facebook.

“We are writing to express deep alarm,” the group said in its letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

Jodi Seth, a spokeswoman for Menlo Park, California-based Facebook, said users can choose not to receive advertising that’s based on the websites they visit and apps they use.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-29/facebook-plan-to-monitor-user-web-browsing-rouses-alarm.html

[corkhead]

1. ALWAYS be sure to manually log out of Facebook before you leave it to maintain your privacy.

[edgineered]

2. Her statement (Seth)

does not say that FB will not monitor the browsing activity of those opting out. It is hard to believe so many people continue to use social media despite knowing these things.

[arcane1]

4. Yeah, they say you won't get ads based on monitoring, not that there's no monitoring

A sleazy company if there ever was one.

[MANative]

3. I've been on Facebook for a little over five years...

and, initially, it was great fun to reconnect with old classmates and cousins whom I don't get to see often. I've been very unhappy with the level of intrusiveness - and its steady growth - that has become the hallmark of Facebook membership. I uninstalled the app from my tablet and smartphone, and I've been seriously considering leaving entirely. I just learned yesterday that Facebook will now be requiring users to install a separate app for Messenger services that were formerly part of the base app for Android and iPhone/iPad devices. Seems like another way to collect a different type of data, if you ask me. As much as I enjoy connecting with my friends on that platform, I think the day is rapidly approaching that I will be saying goodbye to Facebook forever.

[jmowreader]

5. Oh, I see...

To Zuckerberg, the NSA reading your phone bill is bad but his own website crawling so far up his users' asses he can see what they had for lunch yesterday, then selling that information to third parties, is good. It is becoming all too obvious the biggest problem he's got with the government spying on Americans is there's no money in it for him.

[xfundy]

6. Evil company.

Signed up several years ago, got ads based on other sites I'd visited. This is not new activity for FB.Finally gave the whole damn thing up. Not worth it.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Purveyor.