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Does Facebook Beacon spy on you without asking?

FBCA.gifFacebook tracks user activity on sites affiliated with its Beacon advertising program, even when those users have opted-out of the program and logged off Facebook. So say security researchers at Computer Associates, who offers the following screenshots for proof.

Facebook Beacon

CA's experts found that code embedded into Beacon-affiliated sites sends Facebook information about users' planned purchases. And if the user has ever selected "remember me" when logging into Facebook, the affiliate site sends Facebook the user's name.

If the member is logged into Facebook, a popup box will then offer the user an opt out. But CA says that by this point, private data has already been transmitted. Facebook executives dispute this claim and argues that the code only serves to check if the member is logged in. But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been caught dissembling about Beacon before.

3:13 PM on Mon Dec 3 2007
By Nicholas Carlson
2,153 views
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