Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Receive the latest technology news and information.
Networking
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
Cloud Computing
View all newsletters




Privacy Policy
 

MySpace, Facebook ad plans violate privacy, groups tell FTC

Contend that the plans give marketers access to users' personal data

November 13, 2007 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Two consumer advocacy groups have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether new advertising initiatives announced last week by social networking sites MySpace and Facebook adequately protect consumer privacy.

In a Nov. 12 letter to FTC Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras, the Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group claimed that the "ambitious new targeted advertising schemes" launched by MySpace.com and Facebook Inc. "make clear the advertising industry's intentions to move full-speed ahead without regard to ensuring consumers are protected."

Jeffrey Chester, founder and executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, said that by launching the advertising plans, MySpace and Facebook are "thumbing their noses at the FTC and consumer privacy rights" by allowing marketers to customize advertisements based on data provided by users in their profiles on the social networking sites.

"MySpace and Facebook are like the digital data equivalent of Fort Knox for Madison Avenue marketers," he said. "It is a kind of one-stop data shop for marketers. They know your interests, your politics and what movies you like. It is a much more rich array of content that marketers simply should not have automatic access to."

Chester said that consumers must be offered a complete opt-out option, and that the social networks must fully disclose how they intend to use their personal information.

The letter goes on to note that since both MySpace and Facebook are working with fast-food advertisers, the FTC should include their plans in its ongoing review of advertisements that may promote obesity among youths.

Several attorneys and privacy advocates last week questioned whether it is legal for the social networks to tell a user's friends about his or her purchases or likes without the user's written consent.

In a statement e-mailed to Computerworld, MySpace said it is "firmly committed to protecting user privacy and adher[ing] to a strict policy." In addition, MySpace noted that by the end of this year, users will be able to opt out of MySpace programs that use their preferences to help advertisers create customized ads.

"Our ad targeting platform is designed to work with user-expressed information from profile pages to create a more-relevant advertising experience," the statement said. "Users who are not interested in participating will have the ability to 'opt out' of the targeting platform."

Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This week's letter was a follow-up to a report the two groups sent to the FTC in early November urging it to launch an investigation into new threats to privacy from the behavioral targeting and profiling of users -- especially youth -- by social networks and other online sites.



Jump to comments

myspace

Additional Resources

WHITE PAPER
Approximately 60 percent of data migration projects overrun time or budget, while some fail completely. Download this white paper, "Enhancing Your Chance for Successful Data Migration," to learn the critical steps you need to take to execute a data migration project with minimum cost and risk to your business.
WHITE PAPER
Read the Gartner research note to learn why the TCO of a server-based computing deployment used to deliver all applications to users is around 50% lower than that of an unmanaged desktop deployment.
WHITE PAPER
Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost competitive or that are out of synch with industry trends. This IDC White Paper presents the results of an IDC survey of 330 companies in Western Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas that measures the receptiveness to Linux and takes into consideration changing views driven by the disruptive economic environment that businesses face today.

What People Are Saying

White Papers & Webcasts

Southern Company
Download Now  

Aligning IT to Business: The Rising Importance of Application Delivery Networks
Application Delivery Networking (ADN) will play a vital role in helping enterprises incorporate strategic technologies to achieve business initiatives.

Mitigate Risk, Lower Costs and Improve Network Efficiency
Create a stable IP network that not only meets today's challenges, but is flexible enough to also meet future demands.

Share our Strength
Download Now  

Preparing Your Business Services for the Future
Would you trust your network monitoring tools enough to know when something is truly halting a business service?

IPAM: Slashing Network Costs
Slashing Network Costs by Consolidating and Automating Core Network Services

Horror stories: Managing IT Across Multiple Locations
How one extra sharp IT manager eliminates daily agony, hassle and repetition.