The Federal Trade Commission has been asked to investigate whether advertising plans recently launched by Facebook and MySpace flout users’ privacy rights, according to an article Tuesday in Computerworld.
The plans involve tailoring advertisements on the sites according to peoples’ hobbies, favorite foods, travel destinations, and other factors.
Two consumer advocacy groups, the Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, say the social- networking sites should offer consumers the chance to have their data excluded from the advertising plans, and should fully inform consumers how their personal information will be used. The groups wrote a letter to the FTC Monday asking the agency to look into the matter. —Andrea L. Foster
