And a group of privacy advocates are so hot under the collar about it that they are using the networking capabilities of Facebook to organise opposition to the policy.
The group MoveOn.Org has established a Facebook group aimed at generating petition signatories against the policy. Just days old, it now has nearly 9,000 members.
The group highlights the example of Matt, from New York, who found out what his girlfriend was planning to give him for Christmas.
“Why? Because a new Facebook feature automatically shares books, movies, or gifts you buy online with everyone you know on Facebook,” the group says. “Without your consent, it pops up in your News Feed – a huge invasion of privacy.”
The group encourages companies to “get word-of-mouth promotion” for their business to “millions” of users.
The concerns are related to a free tool called Beacon, that businesses are can embed in their sites. When a Facebook user purchases something from that site, it is published on their news feed.
The aim of Beacon is to promote sales through the electronic word-of-mouth provided by social networking. If someone sees their friends making a purchase, they may be encouraged to make the purchase themselves.
Beacon is an opt-out system. When a purchase is made, a small opt-out icon appears at the top of the screen that reportedly disappears after about 20 seconds.
The privacy groups complain that not only is the icon easily missed, but that the scheme should be opt-IN, not opt-out.
Though Facebook built a reputation for strong privacy in its early days, that reputation has taken a battering more recently. When the news-feed was introduced in 2005, users were outraged until the company changed its policies and allowed the feed to be turned off.
For more e-Marketing news, click here.
