Is Facebook using your pictures in their ads?

If you are a Facebook member and like a Facebook page and/or mention a Facecbook page in a wall update, Facebook can use your name and possibly your picture in ads that are shown to your friends. In fact, your name might be appearing in Facebook ad now saying that you like a certain brand. Facebook opts everyone into Facebook Ads.

Most users are not aware of this because they’ve never read Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities carefully.

Jason, a social media consultant for F-Secure has explained how users should be aware of this feature before Facebook starts using them in the wrong places. You can opt-out of letting Facebook use your name or profile picture  in ads served to your friends by going to Account.

This is where Facebook Ads appears on your Account settings:

Make sure you select “No one” under “Show my social actions in Facebook Ads to” tab.

Your name and picture can also appear in Sponsored Stories.

According to Facebook, “Sponsored Stories are stories that your friends published into your News Feed. These show up on the right hand side of pages on Facebook. The types of stories that can be surfaced include: Page Likes, App interactions, Place check-ins and Page posts.”

You’ll only appear in a Sponsored Story if you mention a Facebook page using Facebook’s mention tool (which works like a Twitter mention: you type @username.)

“You probably haven’t seen too many Sponsored Stories because the mention tool isn’t used all that often. And when it is, it might be used sarcastically to make a point. Like: @Starbucks parking lot is full again. I may have to go back to @No-Doz. You can only mention a page or profile you like using this method, which is good because that means you’ve, in a way, opted in twice to any brand that can use your image in Sponsored Stories,” Jason explained.

Facebook has used users’ names in ads for a while. Sponsored Stories launched  in early 2011. This seemed to rekindle a Facebook meme where Facebook users complain to each other about how Facebook uses our name and image in ads.

However, Facebook isn’t allowing third-parties to use your name and picture in your ad. But they may soon, which is why this setting already exists.

Jason reiterates, “Facebook is already allowing third-parties access to your life and identity. You pick who you advertise–the pages you like—and to whom—your friends. But you can’t exclude certain pages or friends. Nor do you share in any of the ad revenue.”

A good and bad thing is that only your friends will ever see you in ads. But do you want your boss to see you endorsing an alcohol product in the middle of a work day? Do you want your mother-in-law to know you ‘liked’ Justin Bieber as a joke? It could happen if you don’t opt out.

It doesn’t matter if you opt in for Facebook ads or not, what matters is that you make a conscious choice. And when it comes to your image being used to endorse products to your friends, Facebook has made that choice for you.

Google along with 20 firms stand against French Data Law

Tables have turned in France where once the French privacy watchdog, CNIL, fined Google £87,000 (which was also the largest ever fine handed out by CNIL) when it accidentally collected personal data during the setting up of its Street View service.

Even Facebook was forced to overhaul its privacy settings following criticism that they were too complex.

Now, the French government is planning to keep web users’ personal data for a year. The law obliges a range of e-commerce sites, video and music services and webmail providers to keep a host of data on customers.

This includes users’ full names, postal addresses, telephone numbers and passwords. The data must be handed over to the authorities if demanded. Police, the fraud office, customs, tax and social security bodies will all have the right of access.

More than 20 firms, including French online video firm, Dailymotion, Google and eBay.

The legal challenge has been brought by The French Association of Internet Community Services (ASIC) and relates to government plans to keep web users’ personal data for a year.

In an interview with BBC, ASIC head Benoit Tabaka said that he believes that the data law is unnecessarily draconian. “Several elements are problematic. For instance, there was no consultation with the European Commission. Our companies are based in several European countries. Our activities target many national markets, so it is clear that we need a common approach,” said Tabaka.

ASIC also thinks that passwords should not be collected and warned that retaining them could have security implications.