Facebook postpones introduction of new privacy rules
In a surprise move, Facebook has postponed the rollout of its new privacy policies by nearly a month to the end of January. A Facebook spokesperson told the German Press Agency (DPA) that the company wanted to give users more time to review the changes.
The new rules are now scheduled to take effect Jan. 30 instead of Jan. 1. Facebook told its users Wednesday that anyone using the service after Jan. 30 would automatically agree to the updated terms and conditions, data policy and cookies policy. In addition, Facebook users then agreed to be shown ads that are compiled based on their browsing behavior both on Facebook and outside the network. Among other things, Facebook wants to tailor advertising more closely to individual users. For this purpose, for example, information about pages visited and apps used will also be evaluated. Until now, Facebook has created advertising profiles for its users based on their activities on the network itself. Now, apps and websites used outside of Facebook will also be included. This has already been the case in the USA for several months.
Advertising displayed
For example, someone searching the Internet for deals on their next vacation might see ads for travel displayed on their profile the next time they visit. If someone buys a stereo system over the Internet, ads for speakers or other accessories will most likely be displayed on their Facebook page. Anyone who does not want this to happen should be able to turn it off. The announced in November new rules had met with criticism from data protectionists. The Dutch data protection authority launched an investigation and asked Facebook to postpone the rollout in mid-December. The innovations are part of the first update to Facebook's privacy rules in about a year. New additions are to include provisions for payment services and purchases on the Facebook platform. This involves payment data such as card numbers, but also information about purchases. It will be possible to delete information about individual items purchased.
A new section called "Privacy Basics" is intended to better explain to users how Facebook works, it said. With the creation of the new section, the actual data usage guidelines were streamlined at the same time. Facebook has more than 1.3 billion users worldwide. The world's largest online network finances itself almost exclusively through advertising. (SDA)
