Facebook changes Beacon

A good result of mass protest! More than 50,000 Facebook members have forced the social networking site to change the way a controversial ad system worked. Facebook users signed a petition calling on the company to alter or abandon itscontroversial Beacon advertising program.

When Facebook users shopped online, Beacon told friends and businesses what they looked at or bought. Many considered the data sharing to be an intrusion that exposed them to more scrutiny than was comfortable.

Now Beacon will be an "opt in" system that only tracks data if explicit permission is granted to Facebook to do so.

"It also says a lot about the ability of internet users to band together to make a difference," said Adam Green, a spokesman for activist site MoveOn. MoveOn was at the forefront of protests against Beacon and set up the petition to gather signatures on 20 November. Link