|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
Reps Call on FTC to Probe Facebook's Fast-and-Loose Privacy Practices
|
Parent(s) |
Issue
|
Contributor | Homegrown Democrat |
Last Edited | Homegrown Democrat Sep 30, 2011 12:06am |
Logged |
0
|
Category | News |
Author | Rob Spiegel |
News Date | Thursday, September 29, 2011 08:50:00 PM UTC0:0 |
Description | Facebook hasn't been particularly fazed by users' indignation or consumer advocates' warnings over its repeated privacy bungles. Perhaps it will react differently to scrutiny by Congress and possible regulation by the FTC. "Being cavalier about people's privacy is dangerous," said tech analyst Laura DiDio. "You can run into problems from identity theft to kiddie porn. It needs checks and balances."
Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, co-chairmen of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, have sent a letter to Joe Leibowitz, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), addressing Facebook's use of cookies to gather information from members who surf the 905,000 sites that display its "like" button.
A blog post that surfaced last weekend ignited the latest Facebook privacy firestorm. Nik Cubrilovic, a hacker and blogger, revealed that Facebook was keeping cookies active even after users logged out of the network. Facebook made some changes in response to the post, but those measures have not defused the growing alarm over the company's penchant for disregarding its members' privacy.
Tracking user behavior without consent or knowledge raises some serious privacy concerns, said the congressmen. |
Share |
|
2¢
|
|
Article | Read Full Article |
|
Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|