Facebook shuts down thorny marketing tool

[alittlelark]

Source: Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

NEW YORK — Facebook is closing an uncomfortable chapter in its five-year history.

The social network says it will shut down Beacon, a program that tracks users' activities on other Web sites. When it launched in 2007, Beacon was immediately attacked by users as a privacy violation.

It tracked purchases Facebook users made on other sites and sent alerts about them to their Facebook friends. Facebook later let users turn Beacon off, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly apologized for it.

Beacon never really caught on, and Facebook agreed to end it as part of a class-action lawsuit settlement.

The Palo Alto, California-based Facebook company will also pay $9.5 million to create a foundation to promote online privacy, safety and security.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iHu1jUmbDqb2SuYZV2Zd3DSqYSbAD9ARRKAO1

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I knew I was not just paranoid about that networking site.


My daughter was despondent earlier - I asked her what the problem was and she told me that Facebook was running slow and down sometimes.

I assume it is due to their trying to pull all this code out of their systems.

[jeff30997]

1. Facebook privacy is an oxymoron.

"On August 11th, Facebook started giving whitelisted apps access to inbox messages. User permission is required, but the potential for abuse is enormous - a malicious or hacked app could post private messages on the web for anyone to read."

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

2. Bush + Cheney + 2007 = Facebook Beacon

Also add AT&T in it somewhere.

Maby Facebook will get more users now without Big Brother around.

[Posteritatis]

5. More users? It's got better than a quarter billion right now

I don't think they're hurting for membership.

[Wednesdays]

3. Gee...a web site where the entire world can learn all your private info?

Facebook...MySpace...

Some of my family members have accounts on those. I say, "No, thanks. I'll pass."

[rd_kent]

4. Why would anyone thing that there is ANYTHING private about a social networking site?

I cannot figure it out why people get angry over this. Want privacy? Dont use social networking sites.