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Facebook Will Reveal Who Uploaded Your Contact Info For Ad Targeting (techcrunch.com)

In March, TechCrunch discovered Facebook planned to require advertisers pledge that they had permission to upload someone's phone number or email address for ad targeting. That tool debuted in June, though there was no verification process and Facebook just took businesses at their word despite the financial incentive to lie. In November, Facebook launched a way for ad agencies and marketing tech developers to specify who they were buying promotions "on behalf of." Soon that information will finally be revealed to users. From the report: Starting February 28th, Facebook's "Why am I seeing this?" button in the drop-down menu of feed posts will reveal more than the brand who paid for the ad, some biographical details they targeted, and if they'd uploaded your contact info. Facebook will start to show when your contact info was uploaded, if it was by the brand or one of their agency/developer partners, and when access was shared between partners. A Facebook spokesperson tells me the goal to keep giving people a better understanding of how advertisers use their information.

This new level of transparency could help users pinpoint what caused a brand to get ahold of their contact info. That might help them to change their behavior to stay more private. The system could also help Facebook zero in on agencies or partners who are constantly uploading contact info and might not have attained it legitimately. Apparently seeking not to dredge up old privacy problems, Facebook didn't publish a blog post about the change but simply announced it in a Facebook post to the Facebook Advertiser Hub Page.

35 comments

  1. Useless by goombah99 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You will see every listing of this be from a mysterious entity named
    Benevolent offshore Cut-out corporation

    --
    Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
    1. Re: Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nah, there will be plenty of real entities listed - ones that don't play nice with Chucklefuck's agenda.

    2. Re: Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh well I never heard of such a corporation and I do not want their contact info

    3. Re: Useless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trigger warning: code of conduct. Better: quantifiable methods in ethics

    4. Re:Useless by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Worse than that, it will be political ads designed to annoy you but appear to be from some other candidate so that you hate them in turn.

  2. Simple solution ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Guess what, I don't have those problems because
    I don't use FB and you shouldn't too. ... The more you know, the less "they" know ...

    CAP === 'capitals'

    1. Re:Simple solution ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They already have your info in a shadow account. So, you have the problem and no control over it.

    2. Re:Simple solution ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering how you stalk APK by hiding behind unidentifiable anonymous posts plus you impersonate APK? APK defeated you.

    3. Re:Simple solution ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      impersonate APK?

      Yeah that's a real bummer. If only there were some way for him to authenticate his posts that would be easy for him to do but really hard for any impersonator to fake. Why, we could call this arrangement an "account name and password" or something! You know, the staff should get to work ASAP to add this option to the site!

      Oh but wait!! Then things like posting limits and karma would apply no matter how many proxies/vpns/IPs he appears to be coming from. Yeah that wouldn't work out for APK at all. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he's afraid of that. Better to keep crying about impersonators instead. Bonus: the fake APKs can do that too!

  3. Some day soon, collusion is exposed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/06/politics/donald-trump-investigation-adam-schiff-jerry-nadler/index.html

    If anyone doesn't already know this as a fact, Trey Gowdy sucks Putin's cock every night in his best dreams. So does Nunez. Those traitors will burn one day, and I will be there. With marshmallows.

    1. Re: Some day soon, collusion is exposed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      CNN is not news and has been lying to you. Get help kid.

    2. Re: Some day soon, collusion is exposed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me guess, Fox News is the bastion of freedom and reliable news?

  4. Translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    "Lets look as though we are doing something meaningful for privacy before privacy gets imposed on us by government"

    With the idea that in 6 months time "The idea, while good was not popular so development of this has stopped and the service will be removed in the near future"

    1. Re: Translation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More like 6 days.

      "Move faster, break shit; Facebook don't give a fuuck."

  5. FUD. Meaningless information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This "information" will be a company you never heard of which is a partner with another company or another 100 companies that will use and abuse your information.
    Personally, I quit F-Book two years ago and don't miss it. People are just foolish and haven't a clue of what information that they have given away and how it will bite them in the ass for the rest of their lives.

    Think of it this way. Who would have thought High School yearbooks could bring down a politician?? The same thing will happen in the future with you and your information regarding credit, housing, government acceptance - IF the U.S. falls to Socialism and becomes just another Euro-Trash country.

    1. Re:FUD. Meaningless information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We don't have trash in Europe - we shipped it all to the Colonies in America, haven't had enough time for it to spawn again yet.

  6. Who audits the information? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What's to stop me saying "This ad paid for by $PARTY_I_HATE?"

  7. Hahahaha they are funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They sell the information to make $$$, then when someone's else use the bought info they pretend be the noce guy around? Incredible.
    Does anyone know to whom they are selling it? NO. So it's better leave the platform and never look back

  8. Oh FFS, really? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 2

    "... there was no verification process and Facebook just took businesses at their word despite the financial incentive to lie. "

    This is sleazy, even for Facebook, which is a pile of sleaze built on a foundation of sleaze by sleazy scumbags whose every waking moment is dedicated to finding even more sleazy ways to fuck you over.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  9. Upload or download? by Typing_Ptarmigan · · Score: 1

    TFA says "uploaded" multiple times. Doesn't it seem like advertisers would download (not upload) your info from Facebook?

    1. Re:Upload or download? by PixetaledPikachu · · Score: 1

      TFA says "uploaded" multiple times. Doesn't it seem like advertisers would download (not upload) your info from Facebook?

      AFAIK, one of the advertising method available on facebook is that advertisers can upload a list of contact info (phone numbers, email addresses) to facebook, and facebook will match these info to their corresponding accounts, and voila, ads are served to you. I remember this when I review what facebook has on me, and they showed me which advertisers has my email address and upload them to facebook

    2. Re:Upload or download? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      doesn't it seem unlikely that a tech writer would fail to understand the difference between upload and download?

  10. Why did that do that? by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    They shouldn't have allowed that in the first place.

  11. link blocked... by alabamatoy · · Score: 1

    The "Facebook advertisers hub page" linked in the post appears blocked - it says "Sorry, this content isn't available right now The link you followed may have expired, or the page may only be visible to an audience you're not in.". Can someone who has access to it post it somehow?

    --
    Freedom carries sacrifice
  12. Deflection ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 0

    The translated version:

    Those sumbitches are getting data and not paying us for it. We'll get them and their little doggie, too.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
  13. Horse, barn door, wrong problem by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    The "Why am I seeing this?" What will I see "A friend uploaded your contact info to us" ? How da'fck do I stop other people from leaking my info?!?!?

    I clicked the button "Dear FB - don't share my info" (actually - "You can't have my info") --- but apparently if a friend is willing to share my data, well that's okay. FB didn't get it from me.

    The horse has left the barn. The Ad companies already have the data. Closing the door now doesn't solve the problem.

    I actually have a different email address for FB which exists solely for signing into things like this. My friends don't have it. FB knows were friends but can't link my email address in their contact list to know that its me. Same with my phone number - I have a virtual number that my friends don't have, but FB thinks they do.

    And I'm sure they already have figured that out and don't care - my data is stitched together anyhow.

  14. Technically they're hashed (at least w/Google...) by WoTG · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure if it was Facebook or Google or both, you don't technically match on email address. They technically match on hashes of email addresses to protect your "privacy". Look out for that doublespeak when it comes to advertisers online...

  15. Re:Technically they're hashed (at least w/Google.. by PixetaledPikachu · · Score: 1

    I'm not sure if it was Facebook or Google or both, you don't technically match on email address. They technically match on hashes of email addresses to protect your "privacy". Look out for that doublespeak when it comes to advertisers online...

    The point being discussed was whether advertisers download or upload. I'm simply pointing out that advertisers can upload as well