Facebook's purchasing Beacon causes a ruckus

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By Stevie Smith Nov 22, 2007, 8:47 GMT

While its near-meteoric rise in popularity is no-doubt a result of genuine user appeal, social networking phenomenon Facebook is causing unwanted choppy waves with its user base this week following the implementation of Beacon, a new marketing tool that allows friends to see exactly what a user has been purchasing at online stores. Facebook is coming under fire from users and the MoveOn organisation regarding privacy issues related to its new Beacon marketing program. Credit: Facebook.

Facebook is coming under fire from users and the MoveOn organisation regarding privacy issues related to its new Beacon marketing program. Credit: Facebook. The Associated Press reveals that those sitting firmly in the complainant camp are claiming they failed to notice an innocuous information box referring to the program, which appeared through their Web browsers following purchases made at online retailers such as Fandango and Overstock.The pop-up box appears for around 20 seconds, informing users that their purchasing information will be distributed into Facebook unless its "No Thanks" option is selected. If the user does not opt for that selection during the time the box is on-screen, consent to share personal purchasing habits is seen as being given. When logging into Facebook, users are presented with a second alert, but those having missed it are subsequently expressing their dissatisfaction with Facebook for not allowing much more direct control concerning a marketing program that some are labelling as an invasion of privacy.The Beacon program, which has reportedly been embedded by around 40 Web sites to enable marketing feeds through Facebook, works by allowing users to view specific purchases made by friends as endorsements of worth for the product, event, or service paid for. "Beacon gives users an easy way to share relevant information from other sites with their friends on Facebook," offered a statement from Facebook addressing privacy fears. "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. Users also are given multiple ways to choose not to share information from a participating site, both on that site and on Facebook."However, Facebook’s justification isn’t convincing everyone, with ex-online advertising professional and Facebook user Mike Mayer (28) expressing his concerns by saying: "If my identity is going to be used to promote something for someone else, that seems problematic… It could be a misrepresentation of my purchases."Another Facebook user, Nate Weiner (23), outlined his worries regarding the sharing of potentially sensitive information, not just which movie you’re going to see, or which music you listen to: "What if you bought a book on Amazon called ‘Coping with AIDS’ and that got published to every single one of your friends?" he said.While Facebook has said that Beacon users are presented with ways to restrict information from a participating site, they cannot withdraw completely from the program.Liberal public policy advocacy group MoveOn.org has this week formed a protest against Facebook, demanding that unless users give "explicit permission" via an "opt in" not "opt out" system, the social networking Web site should stop sharing online purchase information and put a block on allowing participating companies to gain user endorsements on their products.

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Andy - LondonNov 22nd, 2007 - 12:41:41

Well, if my identity is going to be used as endorsement they better start paying me for it! LOL. It is a groww invasion of privacy but we hardly have any privacy left, have we? Not after the UK goverment messing up with our data

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