Facebook has admitted that it has been tracking both its users and people who do not have an account with the site, but despite reports to the contrary it insists that it isn’t breaking any laws by doing so.
Also See: Facebook Is Breaking EU Law By Tracking Users Even After They’ve Deleted Their Account
The social network claimed that the tracking was a result of a “bug” that placed tracking cookies on the computers of people who visited sites which included Facebook’s social plug-ins. A study was conducted that revealed Facebook was placing cookies on the computers of users who visited a site that included one of its various plug-ins, including its ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ buttons, with the company’s lack of transparency regarding this matter reportedly meaning that they had broken European law.
However, Facebook’s vice president of policy for Europe Richard Allan argued against this claim, posting a rebuttal in the form of a blog post. Allan writes: “The report gets it wrong multiple times in asserting how Facebook uses information to provide our service to more than a billion people around the world.”
Discussing how Facebook utilizes cookies, Allan continued:
We want people to understand how cookies are used and we explain it clearly. We use cookies in three main ways:
- Security – Cookies tell us when people are logged into Facebook. That’s why you don’t have to enter your name and password every time you visit, and so we can alert you in case someone else is trying to log in as you from an unknown computer.
- Personalization – Cookies help us remember things like what language you use. They’re how we know who you are when you click Like or make a comment using Facebook on a publisher’s website.
- Ads – Other cookies help make sure the ads you see are interesting and help us measure how effective they are. Facebook is offered free of charge, and we do that by showing ads we think are relevant to people’s interests. For example, a business might ask us to show you an ad on Facebook after you visited their web site or mobile app.
Most internet services and publishers use cookies for these same reasons.
Allan also disputed that the company was tracking both users and non-users, writing: “Facebook does receive standard ‘web impressions’, or website visit information, when people visit sites with our plugins or other integrations. The authors misleadingly call this ‘tracking’. Unlike many companies, we explain how we will use this information and the controls we honour and offer.”
The VP also reiterated the point that users can opt out of ad targeting through the Digital Advertising Alliance, though many have criticized this method as not being easy enough for the average user to employ.
It’s still up for debate whether or not Facebook is breaking any European laws, with the Belgian Privacy Commission set to decide whether or not it will pursue legal action against the social network by April 29th.
Photo: Getty Images
