Facebook sued in California
p2pnet news view Advertising | P2P:- With promises of privacy reformation made to Canada’s privacy commissioner in the background, online advertising site Facebook is being sued by five people in California who claim it’s violating local laws and, “misleading members about how their personal information is used,” says the Associated Press.
Exactly the same allegations, and others, have been made in Canada.
The California lawsuit, lodged by a professional photographer, two children under 13, a user of the original Facebook and a Los Angeles-based actress and model, asks for damages and attorney’s fees and includes a request for a jury trial, says the story, quoting Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt as stating:
“We see no merit to this suit and we plan to fight it.”
What else would he say?
Making black look white
What! Us? Play fast and loose with user information? — say Facebook PR factotums, throwing up their hands in horror every time the issue is raised, which is frequently.
Of course, you can’t believe a word. The people who come out with these earnest and apparently sincere statements are the same kind of spinsters who made George W. Bush looked good. They’re artists in the truest sense of the word and they’re paid a lot of money to make black look white.
But Facebook isn’t alone. Google, Yahoo, et al, are exactly the same. The differences are only in degree of spin and obfuscation.
All of these companies have convinced themselves to advertise successfully online, or to represent the advertisers who want to advertise successfully online, they absolutely must have information in the minutest detail about surfers —- who they are, where they live, how much they earn, how old they are, what colour, are they male, female, or other, what sites do they like, how did they get there, how long did they stay, what did they do while they’re there?
It goes on and on.
$450 billion by next year
The pic on the right is an advertising flyer from 1806 for a traditional Japanese medicine called Kinseitan, and it’s shown on a Wikipedia post going into the history of … well, you know.
“Money spent on advertising has increased dramatically in recent years,” says the post, going on that advertising worldwide is expected to exceed $450 billion by next year.
But, “While advertising can be seen as necessary for economic growth, it is not without social costs,” says the Wikipedia.
“Unsolicited Commercial Email and other forms of spam have become so prevalent as to have become a major nuisance to users of these services, as well as being a financial burden on internet service providers. Advertising is increasingly invading public spaces, such as schools, which some critics argue is a form of child exploitation. In addition, advertising frequently uses psychological pressure (for example, appealing to feelings of inadequacy) on the intended consumer, which may be harmful.”
I can also piss people off.
Seriously.
But thanks to the many and various online entities such as Wikileaks, nasty little advertising data-gathering secrets don’t remain secret, any more.
Making your mousetrap look different
Companies such as Facebook depend on advertising for their revenues.
But the problem is: ‘product’ looks the same, smells the same, tastes the same, sounds the same, and there’s a constant battle by producers and those who service them to find a way to make their mousetrap look different from everyone else’s mousetrap.
And it’s getting worse.
More and more people and companies are making more and more stuff, all of which has somehow to be sold to consumers.
And they, alarmingly from the perspective of the manufacturers, are becoming more, not less, discerning.
Rolling down the line
Said Facebook in its tardy response to the investigation launched by the OPC (Office of the Privacy Commissioner), “it is clear that we share the same goals of ensuring people have control over their information and that they are able to make informed choices about privacy.
“Many of the recommendations in their report provide an excellent opportunity to clarify and enhance our privacy practices in a way that is consistent with our company’s values and our users’ expectations.”
This is, of course, total bullshit.
Like every other site of its ilk, Facebook has been going blue trying to do the exact opposite and it’s only because of intense and continuous pressure from its own users and online advocates of privacy and freedom of speech that it’s being dragged, kicking and screaming, to increased levels of openness.
The company’s values centre wholly and solely on and making sure its shareholders see regular increases in their dividends. Otherwise, management will be out on its ear.
That’s what corporations are about, and it’s all they’re about.
So how far will Facebook go in answering Canadian OPC concerns?
We’ll see. And will whatever improvements it’s forced to make in Canada automatically roll down the line to Facebook sites elsewhere — ie, California?
Not without a lot of aggravation and agitation.
Meanwhile, what’s the answer?
Honesty and forthrightness, informing people instead of trying to trick them, and treating them with respect, will help innovative companies make themselves stand out in the herd.
Because consumers aren’t consumers any more.
They’re customers, again.
And the customer is always right.
Click here for more p2pnet stories on advertising.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
promises of privacy reformation – Facebook answers Canada privacy commissioner, August 18, 2009
Associated Press – California users file civil suit against Facebook, August 17, 2009
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