Facebook accused of leaking private user info to advertisers

We’ve seen it over and over again, Facebook and its infamous way of of handling user security. Last week, the most popular social networking was gripped by yet another scam and is now accused of misusing user info. The European Commission plans to put a halt to Facebook’s eavesdropping on its members’ personal information, reports The Sunday Telegraph. The social network gathers information like users’ opinions, sexuality, religious beliefs and whereabouts, according to the report.

Stealing info

Reportedly, Facebook uses certain software to gather such information irrespective of the user’s privacy settings and sells it to advertisers. In order to ban Facebook from stealing information, unless of course, a user approves of it, a new EC directive will be introduced, starting January. This move was initiated as a result of the investigation report put up by the newspaper, which states that Facebook helps advertisers to focus depending upon the user’s profile.

It collects information of the user’s family and background. So, if it’s a bride-to-be, then the profile page is targeted with advertisements related to weddings or bridal needs, says the report. It is believed that whatever people share is being tracked and individuals are obviously unaware of such things. EU data protection party will meet to discuss the matter this week. The gradual rise in advertising has ensured that Facebook is self-sufficient and ‘ready for a stock market flotation.'

In response, Facebook has disclosed that the social firm does not track a user’s behaviour to offer advertising and takes user security very seriously. Do you think your personal information is safe on Facebook?