Facebook To Overhaul Data Use Policy

dryriver writes "The new Facebook advertising policy: 'Our goal is to deliver advertising and other commercial or sponsored content that is valuable to our users and advertisers. In order to help us do that, you agree to the following: You give us permission to use your name, profile picture, content, and information in connection with commercial, sponsored, or related content (such as a brand you like) served or enhanced by us. This means, for example, that you permit a business or other entity to pay us to display your name and/or profile picture with your content or information, without any compensation to you. If you have selected a specific audience for your content or information, we will respect your choice when we use it.' — Facebook also made it clear that the company can use photo recognition software to correctly identify people on the network. It said: 'We are able to suggest that your friend tag you in a picture by scanning and comparing your friend's pictures to information we've put together from your profile pictures and the other photos in which you've been tagged.' — It [Facebook] said it was also clarifying that some of that information reveals details about the device itself such as an IP address, operating system or – surprisingly – a mobile phone number. The Register has asked Facebook to clarify this point as it's not clear from the revised policy wording if a mobile number is scooped up without an individual's knowledge or as a result of it being previously submitted by that person to access some of the company's services. Importantly, Facebookers are not required to cough up their mobile phone number upon registering with the service. At time of writing, Facebook was yet to respond with comment."

Comments

What The Fuck?

[wrackspurt]

I've never used Facebook exactly because of shit like this. I just don't get how it got so big and stays so big. Genetics? Like a different genetic strain of our species which makes hundreds of millions willing victims just as long as they get noticed and pretend friends.

Anthropology suggests each of us normally has about half a dozen close friends at any one time. About that many friends make sense when you consider the emotional and temporal investments and returns. Facebook just makes no sense. It's like people so pathetic just getting noticed no matter the reason or the cost is some twisted form of self validation.

Re:What The Fuck?

[Anonymous Coward]

That sounds like a really stupid policy. Instead of trying to weasel around the issue simply ban non-work related sites on company time and tell people interviewing that that's your policy. Employees violating company policy are instantly fired. There's no reason to be sneaky about it.

There are valid uses for FB. Not everyone knows how to setup custom RSS feeds for their favorite news sites. Follow what you want and you get all their stores in one place. No need to go visit multiple websites. Sadly it's still the easiest way to share pictures among a group of semi-related people who all went on a hiking trip. The discussion coming up with the trip's time, location, drivers, etc.. and it's results (pictures, videos, etc...) are all right there in one place. Sharing baby photos with grandparents, siblings, and a few friends is still easiest on FB. Almost all email providers limit email sizes. Most people don't know how to setup personal server space to share photos. FB makes it easy. It's original purpose of letting old buddies get back in touch with you is still valid. Not everyone with a FB account uses it to constantly spam the world with their self delusions.

Re:What The Fuck?

[FireFury03]

Sounds like a wise choice. I know Facebook isn't the only app employees might waste your time on, with their phones. Every time I see someone's employee fiddling with their phone -- usually while not providing customer service, but always while stealing paid time -- I wonder how they manage to remain employed.

Flexibility runs both ways - if you're going to be a dick and prevent employees from taking the occasional 5 minute break (because it's "stealing" from you) then they're not going to be inclined to do anything over and above their contract either. Don't expect someone to stay late to clear up some problem (because that would be you "stealing" from them) if you're never going to return the favour.

FWIW, an old employer of mine started doing the kind of shit you're suggesting - I got a massive bollocking for ending up 5 minutes late due to traffic one morning... the previous night I had stayed 2 hours late to finish some work. Needless to say, I never stayed late again, and left the company relatively soon afterwards... in fact, most of my colleagues also got pissed off with them and quit - they lost 75% of their technical staff in a 2 month period.

Re:Thanks

[fermion]

12-24 year old define themselves with peer groups. At one time that meant smoking, even though no one forced anyone to smoke. It is just what one did. Before that you went to the malt shop.

Facebook for most people was a phase.I see more kids get over it earlier as their parents spend more time on it. Now companies are using it to try to reach a generation that is not on tv, and it me moving from a phase to a cost of doing business. No one forces you to cut out coupons to buy name brand products, but we do. It could be that facebook ends up being the broker of the kind of relationships that some people like to have with retail brands, in which case value will be added for some people. And the kids who like the freedom that facebooks gives them will not go away, just like when we smoked ciggarettes.

Re:A relevant link:

[Maxo-Texas]

They've repeated lied in the past and will continue to lie in the future.

Understand if you post on Facebook, you have no privacy.
Even if other people post about you on facebook, your privacy is going to be impaired.

Understand *you are the product being sold*.

It's a challenge for me. I finally withdrew from facebook. It's taken a while for people to start emailing me. At first they were annoyed that I needed special handling and they couldn't just set the event up on facebook. But now there are more of us avoiding facebook so email is coming back.

I wouldn't have withdrawn if they hadn't been such weasels about privacy settings.

Re:Thanks

[cas2000]

ask her how she'd feel if you took a photo of her, printed it with her name, address, phone number, email address and any other personal information you can think of, and then posted hundreds of copies of it on bus shelters, lamp posts, walls, bulletin boards, etc all over town.

then tell her that that is exactly what she's done to you.

if you're feeling really pissed off, don't pose it as a question, just go ahead and do it.

Re:Thanks

[Omestes]

It depends. I had a party at my house once, and someone posted photos to Facebook from their phone, tagging my house as a location. I have never been able to remove this. Even flagging the photos doesn't remove the "check in" as my house as a public location. Trying to complain doesn't work, since my house isn't actually associated with me, according to Facebook, I am not the owner of this "venue". So, despite me never telling facebook my address, and removing all location data from everything I share, Facebook now can associate me with an address.

The problem with things like Facebook, is that you have no power over what others can do with your information. You can abstain from using it, or use it as responsibly as possible, and it doesn't matter once someone posts something about you.