According to the Wall Street Journal several social media sites, including Facebook and MySpace, have reportedly been sending user data without consent to advertisers. The data allows advertisers to look up the personal information of the users, that can include their name, age, hometown, and more.
The data was sent to several advertisers, which include Google’s DoubleClick and Yahoo’s Right Media. Both have stated that they were unaware of the fact that the data came from social media sites, and haven’t used it.
The list of sites that the Wall Street Journal identified (along with Facebook and MySpace) for sending the personal data to advertisers includes Hi5, Xanga and Digg. Among them Facebook was identified as sending the most personal data to advertisers.
The news couldn’t have come at a worse time for Facebook. The site is currently facing harsh criticism from privacy advocates. Its complicated and less than transparent privacy policy has many concerned.
After questioning from the WSJ, Facebook and MySpace both have rewritten their code for sending user information to advertisers. The damage, however, has already been done, as Facebook’s already tarnished reputation has taken yet another hard hit.
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