Palo Alto (ip-192.com): Following legal actions, Facebook has decided to shut down its controversial Beacon advertising service. The move comes after a class-action lawsuit filed in August 2008 by approximately 20 Facebook users, alleging that the service was forced upon members that had difficulties opting out of the service.
Basically, Beacon is an advertising tool that exploited purchases made by Facebook users at participating websites. Details of the purchase were then inserted in the users news feed, making it visible to all their friends. Soon after implementation, scores of Facebook users claimed that Beacon invaded their privacy. Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was forced to make the service opt-in only, and issued an apology.
After more than a year of legal action, Facebook offered to close down the service completely and donate $9.5 million to a foundation dedicated to raising issues of online privacy and security. "We learned a great deal from the Beacon experience," so Barry Schnitt. "For one, it underscored how critical it is to provide extensive user control over how information is shared. We also learned how to effectively communicate changes that we make to the user experience,” said the spokesman for Facebook. “We look forward to the creation of the foundation and its work to educate internet users on how best to control their privacy; engage in safe social networking practices; and, generally, enjoy themselves more online by having knowledge that gives them a greater sense of control."
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