"Facebook Sued for Allegedly Intercepting..."

Facebook Sued for Allegedly Intercepting Private Messages

"By Stephanie Mlot. January 3, 2014 10:52am EST The NSA isn't the only one being accused of spying. Two Facebook users this week slapped the social network with a lawsuit alleging that it meddles with private messages. "Contrary to its representation, 'private' Facebook messages are systematically intercepted by the company in an effort to learn the contents of the users' communications," according to the suit, which was filed in California district court.

Plaintiffs Matthew Campbell and Michael Hurley claim that Facebook scans messages and included links to search for information "to profile the message-sender's Web activity." The practice is done, they said, as a way to mine user data and profit by sharing information with third parties like advertisers, marketers, and data aggregators.

"Representing to users that the content of Facebook messages is 'private' creates an especially profitable opportunity for Facebook, because users who believe they are communicating on a service free from surveillance are likely to reveal facts about themselves that they would not reveal had they known the content was being monitored," the suit said. "Thus, Facebook has positioned itself to acquire pieces of the users' profiles that are likely unavailable to other data aggregators.

Facebook does not make it clear that it "scans, mines, and manipulates the content of users' private messages," according to the suit. The social network's privacy settings have come under fire over the years, and in 2012, the Federal Trade Commission finalized a settlement with Facebook over charges that the social network deceived consumers by failing to keep their information private, despite assurances that it would.

A Facebook spokeswoman, however, said today that "the allegations in this lawsuit have no merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously." The plaintiffs are asking for more than $100 per day of violation, or $10,000 per class member, as well as statutory damages of $5,000 per class member or three times the amount of actual damages – whichever is greater.

Google has also faced pushback on its email-scanning feature for Gmail, which serves up ads related to email content on the right-side of the page. In September, a California judge rejected Google's request to dismiss a class-action case that accused the search giant of violating federal and state wiretap laws via Gmail scanning. For more, see Facebook Privacy: 8 Ways to Protect Yourself." http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2428975,00.asp

Orwell, where art thou? You, too, Huxley... where will this lead in 2014?

Facebook Privacy: 8 Ways to Protect Yourself

"If you're going to use Facebook, you must be aware of your privacy settings. Here are the essential tips you need to know.By Dan Costa VIEW ALL PHOTOS IN GALLERY

You want to use Facebook, but you also want to keep your private information from being spread all over the Internet like a Justin Bieber video. The key is to understand how Facebook works, where your information is going, and how to navigate the service's labyrinth of privacy controls. If you accept the service's default settings, you'll likely be sharing a lot more than you might expect. Take the time to update your settings. Chances are you check Facebook every day anyway, so take a few minutes today, go into your privacy controls, and make some choices.

Of course, ultimate privacy can only occur by avoiding the service—and every other social networking site—altogether. But where is the fun in that? Read on, follow these tips, and share just what you want—and no more. Check out our slideshow to read about the steps you need to take to ensure your Facebook privacy."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363178,00.asp

OMG you mean if I post something on Facebook for everyone to read that it's not 100% private?
It's like something out of 1984 I tells ya !

Privacy on Facebook is an oxymoron.

If you want something to be private, don't put it on Facebook.

That there are still people out there who can't seem to grasp this fundamental idea is startling.

Here's a little hint for those that still don't get it:

D-O-N-'T!!!!

U-S-E!!!!

F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K!!!!



D-O-N-'T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by sh76
Privacy on Facebook is an oxymoron.

If you want something to be private, don't put it on Facebook.

That there are still people out there who can't seem to grasp this fundamental idea is startling.

Do you think that people have a legitimate complaint if facebook is claiming it is private but they aren't actually keeping it private?

If a company claims something is private don't you think customers have a right to expect it to be?

Facebook has been a generally terrible company when it comes to being clear on their privacy policies and even the construction of their policies. For that reason alone I would caution against anyone truly trusting them due to their track record, but I welcome attempts to get them to both adhere to what they are claiming and to make their policies clear to their users.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Do you think that people have a legitimate complaint if facebook is claiming it is private but they aren't actually keeping it private?

If a company claims something is private don't you think customers have a right to expect it to be?

Facebook has been a generally terrible company when it comes to being clear on their privacy policies and even th ...[text shortened]... t them to both adhere to what they are claiming and to make their policies clear to their users.

"Do you think that people have a legitimate complaint if facebook is claiming it is private but they aren't actually keeping it private?

If a company claims something is private don't you think customers have a right to expect it to be?" -sh76

Yes and Yes. Often success breeds an arrogant disregard of the sensibilities, privacy and wishes of the audience it serves.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[b]Facebook Sued for Allegedly Intercepting Private Messages

"By Stephanie Mlot. January 3, 2014 10:52am EST The NSA isn't the only one being accused of spying. Two Facebook users this week slapped the social network with a lawsuit alleging that it meddles with private messages. "Contrary to its representation, 'private' Facebook messages are sy ...[text shortened]... 2817,2428975,00.asp

Orwell, where art thou? You, too, Huxley... where will this lead in 2014?[/b]

the hypocrisy of google and facebook is ever more apparent, while decrying government surveillance they themselves are complicit, their denial is nothing more than a PR attempt to masque the facts. Google analytics's is an infestation of privacy, their spiders crawling all over web pages, mining data in the name of efficiency.

Originally posted by robbie carrobie
the hypocrisy of google and facebook is ever more apparent, while decrying government surveillance they themselves are complicit, their denial is nothing more than a PR attempt to masque the facts. Google analytics's is an infestation of privacy, their spiders crawling all over web pages, mining data in the name of efficiency.

Google scans and indexes web pages - that isn't an invasion of privacy. Web pages are inherently public. There's nothing wrong with indexing them in order to provide better searches.

Other things google does may not be so innocent, but scanning public webpages is not a privacy problem.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
"Do you think that people have a legitimate complaint if facebook is claiming it is private but they aren't actually keeping it private?

If a company claims something is private don't you think customers have a right to expect it to be?" -sh76

Yes and Yes. Often success breeds an arrogant disregard of the sensibilities, privacy and wishes of the audience it serves.

Glad you agree...although it looks like you attributed my quote to sh76

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Google scans and indexes web pages - that isn't an invasion of privacy. Web pages are inherently public. There's nothing wrong with indexing them in order to provide better searches.

Other things google does may not be so innocent, but scanning public webpages is not a privacy problem.

on the contrary you are encouraged by google to install google analytics's which puts code onto your website directly and farms information for google without the users of the sites knowledge or consent. This information is used to track and profile users for advertising purposes. Now granted you can argue that its public information, never the less this is something quite different from Search engine optimisation and 'innocently' collecting data about location, duration, type of search etc

I was doing a search through google for a bath, i logged onto facebook and was bombarded with advertisements for bathroom suits, what a coincidence, until i installed anti tracking software, now all I get from facebbok is frequent security checks because they cannot profile my machine and NO advertisements.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Do you think that people have a legitimate complaint if facebook is claiming it is private but they aren't actually keeping it private?

If a company claims something is private don't you think customers have a right to expect it to be?

Perhaps, but I'll bet that buried within the fine print is something that tells you not to rely on their privacy representations.

The point is, if you really want something to be private, don't post it on Facebook. By now, most reasonable people realize this.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
Glad you agree...although it looks like you attributed my quote to sh76

My error; sorry.

Edit: Realize now what happened: looked up to verify the spelling of your nickname
and, in doing so, looked instead at the sh76 post which you had quoted in reply.