According to the Wall Street Journal reports, facebook users are inadvertently providing access to their names and in some cases even their friend's names to advertising and Internet tracking companies, through some popular applications.

Facebook privacy is all the buzz for a second time this year. People are posting, tweeting and talking about Facebook applications like Farmville, inadvertently sharing user information with advertising and Internet tracking companies.

A Wall Street Journal investigation concluded the issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including even those who set their profiles to the strictest privacy settings.

Eileen Roche, Fackbook User, said, "I don't use any of those games, but I think it's a very concerning development. Definitely."

Alulu Amare, Facekbook User, said, "I make sure not to put too much stuff on Facebook, specifically because I know they share your information."

Anindya Ghose, associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business received a grant this summer to study Internet privacy. He says different standards apply depending on who's gathering the user information.

Anindya Ghose, Associate Prefessor of NYU Stern School of Business, said, "People are more concerned with Facebook because they think of this as an institution, and so if you are that powerful you should be responsible and also be held accountable for whatever privacy breaches are going on."

But this is not just Facebook's problem. Other social media like MySpace also allow access to user information. MySpace is owned by Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, which also owns the Wall Street Journal.

Over the weekend, Facebook told the Wall Street Journal it was taking steps to "dramatically limit" the exposure of users' personal information.

Even though the user information came through Facebook, it's really the app or the browser that inadvertently leaks the data.

Similar data has been collected off line for years, but many consider the Internet to be a worse offender.

Anindya Ghose, said, "Data is easier to collect and it's a lot more precise on the internet."

So while this issue is not new, it's a reminder to ask how personal should companies get?

Go to Forum >>0 Comments