Why is Facebook whoring me out?
Summary: I've been pondering this note, sent to me by a friend on Facebook last week:Facebook needs to recode their ads... It's one thing when the ad for singles waiting for me is accompanied by a picture of my lovely wife...
I've been pondering this note, sent to me by a friend on Facebook last week:
Facebook needs to recode their ads... It's one thing when the ad for singles waiting for me is accompanied by a picture of my lovely wife... Its another when the pic is Mitch Ratcliffe!!!
I am married. Facebook knows I am married, because it is in my profile. Yet, the company feels free to use my picture to promote singles ads under the headline "Local singles are waiting for you." I confirmed that this was the situation with my Facebook friend—you can see the thread here.
Moreover, I have never given any company my permission to use my image in advertising. Someone owes me money.
Finally, I don't think my wife, her friends, my family or anyone who knows me would be pleased to see that I am apparently trolling for dates on Facebook. The numbskull at Facebook who thought of using member photos in this way should learn that "transparency" in our lives does not make our life story malleable and changeable by commercial interests. In a way, this is a libel (a written slander), since it associates my name and image with a perceived act of adultery.
Facebook, if you are listening: Stop using member photos for any commercial purpose they do not explicitly endorse. If I see or hear of this use of my image again, I'll be thinking about calling a lawyer.
The abuse of personal data is only beginning. Companies that offer everything for "free" are extracting a huge price from each of us in the form of information, images and private records that they intend to "monetize." It is time to stop letting these companies see how far they can get before someone gets angry.
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Talkback
Set your privacy settings
that's not the way to find out
information? I'd like to know what it will be used for specifically, not just
that it will be used.
An opt-out option buried in settings, never presented as an option when
I logged in, is not sufficiently forthright. It's bad business to offend your
customers before they realize they are being used.
By the way, that setting is four layers down
Feed and Wall," and, finally, "Facebook Ads." On that fifth page, you can
finally see the setting.
That's totally unacceptable. The use of personal data should be a top-
level preference, not buried where it can't be easily found.
Why, I wonder, does Facebook do it that way? Couldn't be because they
know they are abusing user's data, could it?
C'mon Mitch
It's the same game ZDNet plays when one of us tries to contact ZDNet about a typo, an error, or some other issue. We have to search for links to contacts, wade through pages of supposedly helpful content before we can dig down to the level where we can actually find something that begins to approach what we need. Customer support costs money, so ZDNet and admittedly, many other sites, don't want to give it up unless they absolutely have to. Try finding a way to report a Blogspot spam blog, or a Google Group set up for spam link promotional purposes - fun times! FB is doing the same thing, but they're making it difficult for you to take away FB's options to make some dough. It's a weasel move meant to protect the bottom line, which apparently is a priority over customer satisfaction for many sites.
Are you kidding?
On the main page of each and every blog posting is "{insert name here}'s bio". Click that and at the top of the VERY NEXT PAGE is "email {insert name here}". Two clicks. Not five.
Think homepage
The real kicker is when you get an email response 3 days later saying ZDNet support has checked the home page and can't find the issue you've reported, and then you have to point out to them it's probably because the home page has changed several times since then and no longer features the link in question.
They should have a webmaster contact at the bottom of the home page. Just pointing out that this is a common tactic among companies.
One weasel move doesn't
things on ZD Net, which I have absolutely no control over. However, there
is a big difference between beginning to use private data without
permission?not to mention using it in a way that suggests I commit
adultery?with the attendant need to disclose that and the bad
organization of contacts on a Web site.
Lots of things could use fixing.
RE: Why is Facebook whoring me out?
They never gave you the option to opt-in
RE: Why is Facebook whoring me out?
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RE: Why is Facebook whoring me out?
lol, who's gonna bell the cat?
like these because we let them do it, if you aren't going
to do something about it (who has actually been offended)
who will.. Nobody, thats who, and the acts will continue.
RE: Why is Facebook whoring me out?
RE: Why is Facebook whoring me out?
Facebook
They are trying so hard to make money....
I don't think their employees need to worry about that though. Although they don't have abilities to make money for themselves, they are worth billions to companies like Google or Microsoft. I bet those giants are waiting for them to collapse and then will buy it in cheap price.
OK, but don't value the company's common stock at $6.5 billion
doesn't justify rewriting a user's personal life for an ad.
What personal information???
You publish the data in a free service with a TOS that specifically explains that everything you post is theirs to use as they please.
So why am I supposed to feel pitty??? It is your own darn fault.
Not that I agree with the abuse of trust. But in the end, you gave the full permission to use anything by using their service.
There is no such thing as a free social network. All of them are nothing but a scam to get personal data to be sold to the highest bidder.
My fault?
and what services I endorse is the issue. Those terms of service
change constantly, without any presentation of new terms and explicit
opt-in/out choices for customers. That should be the best practice
and, if online companies refuse to practice it, it should be the law.
Every industry that has the power to rewrite contracts with customers
eventually abuses it.
Rather than blame customers for being stupid, why not demand
companies behave responsibly? Your position is that industry can get
away with anything. That's the wrong lesson to preach, if you look at
history. If we'd proceeded on that basis, workplace safety, safe food
and drugs, clean water and virtually everything that a modern nation
can demand of its industries would never have come to pass.
Yes your fault
#1- They showed you the draconian TOS and you ignored the very visible signs of privacy issues.
#2- Unfortunately for you, when you give away your rights to a photo, the contract owner can do what ever they want with it. Just ask all the beautiful young girls who sign away their rights to their pictures, just to find out that they are now the new image for a phone sex ad, a men's club or even the local porn store.
#3- What happened to you is definitely troubling. It proves that Facebook will use your private images and data for what ever they can make money. But in the end, you gave them the right to do it. You signed up to their service totally ignoring the TOS and didn't object to any of the abusive and draconian parts of the contract.
Was whoring your picture deplorable?? Definitely.
Should you be angry about it?? Absolutely.
Do you have a case?? Not a chance.
Unfortunately, you have yourself to blame for ignoring all the very obvious dangers (to your privacy) and assuming that they would never do anything with your private data (after freely giving it to them).
I know people don't like to be told I TOLD YOU SO .... but the fact is THEY TOLD YOU SO. You can't complain about something you were warned about from day one. In the end, you have yourself to blame for ignoring basic logic.