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How Facebook uses you to sell stuff to your friends

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Many Facebook users are unaware that the social platform uses their name to advertise business pages.()
Many Facebook users are unaware that the social platform uses their name to advertise business pages.()
Many Facebook users have no idea that the platform is using their name to advertise products to their friends. Some experts say that this kind of naivety leads to a dangerous power imbalance between these platforms and their users, writes Tim Roxburgh.

When Tennessee resident Kim Parsons found out that her 13-year-old daughter's name was being used to advertise an ice cream store on Facebook, she embarked on an epic legal battle that became a lightning rod for concerns about the commercialisation of our relationships.

The whole way our social connections are being presented to us is being adjusted in view of certain agendas that we're actually not aware of.

In 2011, Facebook introduced a feature they called 'sponsored stories'. Parsons was just one of many Facebook users who were angered by the new feature, which recycled users' 'likes' into ads displayed to their friends.

'Kim was a little surprised,' says her lawyer, Scott Michelman.

'She's very concerned about her daughter's privacy ... she was pretty upset that her daughter's name and image were being used this way without her permission.'

Before long, Facebook was forced to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of users who said they'd never given the company permission to use their names in this way.

The agreement appeased some users, but Michelman felt that it did little to address the concerns of parents. Despite several appeals—the last of which was knocked back just this year—Parsons and others have failed to overturn the settlement.

'As a result, in those states where the use of kids names for advertising without parental permission is illegal, it's still happening, and I think it's ripe for another challenge,' Michelman says.

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Users unaware of privacy options

Since Facebook introduced sponsored stories, they've made several modifications to it, including giving users the ability to opt out.

But many Facebook users—unaware that their names are being used in this way—never delve into the settings where this feature can be controlled.

This lack of awareness unsettles some expert observers, including sociologist William Davies.

'I do think that the way in which the architecture of the social media platforms works is around the naivety of the vast majority of people,' he says.

'It's not just that we're getting targeted ads ... the whole way our social connections are being presented to us is being adjusted in view of certain agendas that we're actually not aware of.'

Advantages of advertising through friendships

In response to these kinds of concerns, social media marketers point to the advantages of allowing advertisers access to data on friendships.

Karalee Evans, from marketing and advisory firm Bastion Collective, says this friendship data allows companies like Facebook to serve us ads that are much better aligned with our interests.

She adds that social media platforms should be more upfront about how their platforms work, but users should also take some responsibility for finding out what they're signing up for when they use Facebook.

'There's no difference in the financial world, about consumers having the responsibility to read a contract before they sign up for a home loan. Why is there a difference online? Why is it the platform's fault when they're using Facebook?'

So next time you click 'like' on the page for the local ice cream store on Facebook, remember what you're signing up for.

'The division between our economic lives and our social lives has dissolved to some extent,' says Davies.

'That doesn't mean that every time we go on social media we're trying to make money, but at the same time, we are ultimately part of some someone else's money making exercise.'

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Government and Politics, Community and Society