Researchers are claiming Facebook’s Beacon online ad system is even more intrusive when it comes to privacy matters than protesters against the technology might have thought initially.
On Friday, Stefan Berteau, a senior research engineer at Computer Associates’ Threat Research Group, published findings that reveal Beacon reports member activities on third-party partner sites even if Facebook users are not logged in, and even if members have declined to opt in to the Beacon program.
“It can happen completely without their knowledge,” Berteau said in his report. “The bottom line is that Facebook is materially misrepresenting the privacy impact of their Beacon program, and presenting users with the appearance of control over their information when in fact they have almost none.”
Beacon Revealed
Beacon sends messages to Facebook members’ friends about what they are purchasing online. If a member booked a trip to Japan on Travelocity.com, for example, friends on Facebook would know it. If the member purchased a ticket to “American Gangster,” that would also be known among friends.
Facebook figured that adding the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to your queue on Blockbuster.com might be something you want your friends to know about. Facebook promised members complete control over the information. The only problem, as far as privacy advocates are concerned, is that members had to opt out instead of opting in.
But Facebook made significant changes to Beacon after 50,000 Facebook members signed a MoveOn.org petition over a 10-day period, asking the site to respect user privacy.
“No stories will be published without users proactively consenting,” Facebook said in a published statement. “If a user does nothing with the initial notification on Facebook,
it will hide after some duration without a story being published. When a user takes a future action on a Beacon site, it will reappear and display all the potential stories…