Anyone who uses Facebook has probably noticed that the popular social networking Web site has undergone a few recent changes.
Facebook has launched a new instant personalization program that links users’ personal information to third-party Web sites such as Pandora and Yelp. Facebook users are automatically opted into this new program.
Facebook’s recent changes have prompted senators, consumer rights groups and other advocates to take a stance. A group of four senators asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine the social networking site’s recent expansion across the Internet that links Facebook pages to other Web sites. The senators sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ask the company to alleviate users’ concerns.
Facebook’s instant personalization pilot program aims to help users connect with their friends easier on select partner sites, according to a Facebook blog post. Facebook’s affiliates for the new feature are Microsoft Docs, Pandora and Yelp.
“We’re working closely with these partners in a pilot program so you can quickly connect with your friends and see relevant content on their sites. These sites personalize your experience using your public Facebook information,” according to Facebook’s posting on its privacy settings section.
The Pages on Facebook have also changed recently. The Community Pages that a user “likes” become a part of their public profile, viewable to anyone who visits the pages they “like.” In the past, users could list activities and interests such as shopping and reading on their profile. Now, entire Facebook pages are devoted to activities and interests. These pages publicly display all of the millions of people who list shopping or reading as an activity.
“Privacy is built around a few key ideas: You should have control over what you share. It should be easy to find and connect with friends. Your privacy settings should be simple and easy to understand,” according to Facebook’s privacy guide page.
University journalism professor David Koranda said that if anything is posted online, it’s public.
“To assume that there was ever privacy on the Internet is a joke,” he said. “If you want it to be private, don’t put it online.”
Users have a choice of making information public or private, journalism professor Harsha Gangadharbatla said.
“The issue of privacy on the Internet is evolving. Privacy is actually not dead,” he said. “It’s being talked about more than in the past.”
Student opinions are mixed. Sophomore Edmon Jeiranian thought the new feature was a terrible idea.
“It’s a breach of privacy. They’re forcing you to do it,” he said.
Other students thought the benefits of social networking outweighed the potential privacy breach.
“It’s the best way to keep in contact with friends from home,” senior Halsey Kessner said. “I’m alright with sharing interests. I make it my goal not to put anything private out there.”
Users can opt out of instant personalization by clicking “No thanks” on the blue Facebook notification on the top of partner sites. On Facebook, users can un-check the box that says
“Allow select partners to instantly personalize their features with my public information when I first arrive on their Web sites.” In text near the bottom of the page it reads, “Please keep in mind that if you opt out, your friends may still share public Facebook information about you to personalize their experience on these partner sites unless you block the application.”
To block the application, users need to go to the affiliate Web sites and click the “Block Application” button, according to a blog post from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. If Facebook adds other affiliates in the future, users will need to go to each of their Web sites to opt out again.
Users can submit their feedback about the new feature by following a link at the bottom of the Applications and Websites section on Facebook.
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