Shelly Palmer Radio Report – June 25, 2012

Click to play ...

More legal trouble for Facebook. Last year, five Facebook users filed a lawsuit against the social networking site over the company’s “Sponsored Stories”.  “Sponsored Stories” are ads that appear in newsfeeds and can include the names, photos and likes of your friends without consent. The verdict became public last week and the users were victorious.  Users will now be able to opt out of Sponsored Stories and Facebook has promised to communicate better about what’s being used in the ads. It’s a victory for privacy advocates who have been making a huge push for users to have more power over their personal information. The settlement is not permanent though; under the agreement the changes only have to be followed for two years and Facebook will likely do whatever it can to get back to the old system.  According to one estimate, Facebook could lose over 103 million dollars in revenue because of the ruling. That may not sound like much, but a few million here and a few million there can start to add up to real money!

Author:

Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York's On-air Tech Expert (WNYW-TV) and the host of Fox Television's monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living. He also hosts United Stations Radio Network's, Shelly Palmer Digital Living Daily, a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology, media, and entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group, LLC an industry-leading advisory and business development firm and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the organization that bestows the coveted Emmy® Awards).