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Uproar Over Facebook Privacy Gaff Quieter This Time

Back to those nagging privacy issues, Facebook has reportedly been sending User ID's to third party app makers and ad agencies for financial gain, as Online Media Daily's Wendy Davis reported last week.

"The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to Facebook's strictest privacy settings," a Wall Street Journal investigation reveals. "The practice breaks Facebook's rules, and renews questions about its ability to keep identifiable information about its users' activities secure."

Still, rather than calls for Zuckerberg's head, one detects a fatalistic sense among analysts and media types that Facebook has weathered worse storms, and is now perhaps too big to fail.

"Basically millions of user's privacy was abused," writes Fast Company. "Nice one, Facebook."

Under the innocuous headline, "Facebook gets poked in latest privacy gaffe," The Register writes: "Facebook's privacy rules aren't as watertight as the company would have its users believe."

Meanwhile, if one comment thread on BoingBoing is any indication, the level of user indignation and fear over potential privacy lapses on Facebook appears to be waning.

"I'm probably alone in this, but I really don't give a damn about my privacy," writes Promethean Sky, while BungaDunga notes: "Not exactly a surprise. We've known apps could do this; it's not a bug, it's a feature. It's how the API works."

Facebook insiders tell The Journal that the latest privacy breach was purely accidental, while, officially, the company says it's taking steps to "dramatically" limit the exposure of users' personal information.

In a blog post, Facebook developer Mike Vernal insists that "press reports have exaggerated the implications of sharing a user ID," though he said several applications were passing User ID's in a manner that violated Facebook's privacy policy.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal et al »

3 comments about "Uproar Over Facebook Privacy Gaff Quieter This Time".
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  1. SoCal Media Surfer, October 18, 2010 at 9:40 p.m.

    If I get wind that FB is selling MY info to ANYBODY without my permission, I AM GONE SO FAST! So NO, MY indignation has not waned, no one asked ME, so I am saying so now.

  2. Fj Rich from chase media group, October 19, 2010 at 2:59 a.m.

    people must be asleep if they are unconcerned w/ what FB is doing w/ private ID info. The risks to users is huge. Take a page from corporate use of FB, where ID info is ltd to what's of commercial value--it's not abt who in IT is dating Jenn in acctg. Wake up!

  3. Ajay Singhania from sit, October 23, 2010 at 8:41 a.m.

    Constantly hearing more and more negative stuff about facebook. will switching to MyCube as soon as it opens. at least they seem to give a crap about our privacy. Seems like the most reasonable choice, to switch to a website that promises complete privacy. I don't want my personal information sold all over the internet

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