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May 11, 2011

Today it was reported on BBC News that Symantec found that Facebook profile access ‘leaked’ allowing access to “hundreds of thousands of Facebook accounts.”  According to the article, titled, Facebook profile access ‘leaked’ claims Symantec,

as of last month 100,000 applications were still enabling leaks.  At first it may not seem too alarming until you read further in the article where it explains that tokens, which act like “spare keys”  used to help applications on the Facebook platform to function, actually allow third-party (to include advertisers) access to a user’s profile and photographs, as well as posting messages on their wall.  Now Facebook does not seem to be too alarmed, stating that their internal investigation revealed “no evidence of this issue resulting in a user's private information being shared with unauthorized third parties.” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13358293)

Interesting enough, this revelation comes out the same day that an article titled, Facebook Now Allows You to Tag Pages in Photos, by Leena Rao, TechCrunch, reports that Facebook has launched a new feature for photo tagging that will allow for tagging of a brand, product, company or person’s Facebook page, as you would when you tag your friends.  The example they gave was if a person in a Facebook post was drinking a Coke, the company Coca Cola could “tag” that picture.  Think about the implications? (http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/11/facebook-now-allows-you-to-tag-pages-in-photos/)

How would you feel if a photograph of you is “used” by a company as a form of advertising?  Think about the implications and the benefits to businesses and for Facebook. So I come back to my question, an oversight or on purpose?