Suckface

When my daughter was younger, I joined Live Journal and MySpace so that I could monitor her on-line activities. I especially wanted to make sure that she was not revealing too much personal information or allowing strangers to contact her.

Now, she's part of the Facebook crowd and when I tried to join that network, she immediately sent me a message:

MOM!! UR NOT SUPPOST TO HAVE A FACE BOOK!! WHAT ARE U DOIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!! DELETE THISSS

I figured that since she was now 17, I guess I should respect her privacy (to the extent that there is any privacy on the internet). And I am a strong proponent of privacy rights (I do honor her right to privacy off-line -- I would never read her diary or letters). Also, there was no way she was going to add me to her list of "friends" so I was out of luck anyway. Beyond that, at this point in my life, there was no reason for me to do Facebook. See My Midlife Facebook Crisis.

As much as I love technology and the untold benefits from many of the technological advances that have arisen in the past few years, one major downside is the erosion of our privacy (even beyond the encroachment by the governmental authorities in charge these days).

I am by nature a private person. That's at least in part why I blog under a pseudonym.* I am careful about the personal matters that I discuss, so that I do not reveal too much information about myself, my family or friends that could prove embarrassing or intrusive.

The evolution of the internet, for many, is anything but private. See, e.g., Who's Watching Now?. The examples are legend about the pictures posted and revelations made on social networking sites that later cost jobs or reputations.

The latest wrinkle in the diminution of our personal privacy is the new campaign by Facebook to adopt an advertising technique that relies on user-provided details about themselves for marketers to target their ads. Fortunately, legal issues have been raised regarding the usage, see Are Facebook’s Social Ads Illegal?. As the WSJ Law Blog explains, in Facebook Faces Legal Questions Over "Facebook Ads":

On their respective blogs — here and here — GWU Law professor Dan Solove and Minnesota Law professor William McGeveran have issues with the new program. McGeveran points out that this may be illegal under a 100-year-old New York privacy law. The statute says that “any person whose name, portrait, picture, or voice is used within this state for advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade without the written consent first obtained” can sue for damages. What’s more, such a use is a criminal misdemeanor.

The New York law would apply to Facebook users anywhere if the ad were displayed in New York, says McGeveran. He also says that people can sue advertisers who use their names and images without permission under the legal doctrine of missappropriation — “One who appropriates to his own use or benefit the name or likeness of another is subject to liability to the other for an invasion of his privacy.” But unlike celebrities, the average Facebook user would have a hard time proving damages — i.e, that their reputation has been sullied or that they were deprived of endorsement fees.

See also, New Facebook Ad Techniques Raise Privacy Concerns. Of course, as noted, the laws are not exactly the most protective, but even worse is the probably true observation that teens and young adults most likely won't even be upset by this.

The method that Facebook is using, however, is especially offensive, as reported by the WSJ Law Blog, More On the Law Blog's Facebook Foray:

Last Sunday the Law Blog purchased three tickets to “Bee Movie” on Fandango, the movie site. After we did this, Facebook automatically updated our profile to say, “Peter bought ‘Bee Movie’ on Fandango.”

Apparently, buried in all of the privacy settings and terms of use for Facebook and Fandango were the authorizations to gather and use your personal information. As Daniel Solove of Concurring Opinions said, The Facebook-Fandango Connection: Invasion of Privacy?:

This case illustrates why the current legal regime regulating personal information at most websites is so deeply flawed. The default settings are set to allow information sharing and disclosure, with users often completely unaware of how their information is going to be used. Businesses frequently tout how they are protecting privacy by providing users with "notice and choice" about how their information will be collected, used, and disseminated. Yet the system rarely results in informed consumers or meaningful choices.

So imagine: You go to Fandango and buy tickets to see a movie -- and then all of a sudden your purchase is being revealed publicly to everybody you know on Facebook. You probably didn't even know that Facebook had this deal with Fandango. What if more websites like Fandango start to collude with Facebook? Does this mean that every time we visit a website, every time we make a purchase, the information starts showing up in our Facebook profiles and on our friends' Facebook profiles?

And Facebook's response to all of this? Very dismissive, not surprisingly. According to the WSJ Law Blog:

A Facebook spokeswoman gave us a response: “Facebook’s Terms of Use provides the consent that the law requires. Social Ads is a fundamentally new type of advertising that puts users in control and displays relevant referrals from friends about the products and services they recommend.”

Short of abandoning the network altogether (which I'm sure teens won't do as long as their friends still hang there), perhaps the best response is to give a big thumbs down or U SUCK for any ad that's used with their name. I assume there's a way to link back to that person who's "endorsing" the product. The link can then pan the product. That would certainly cut short that particular method of advertising, I would think.

____________________

* Of course, to be honest, as I've mentioned before, the main reason I do not reveal my is that most of my clients do not share my liberal leanings and I certainly don't want to allow my hobby to impact my business. I Hardly Knew You.

Tags: Law, Facebook, Advertising, technology