Large social media companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and YouTube sell users' personal information to third parties without users' consent. This includes details about users' friends, interests, and online activities. While companies claim this targeted advertising benefits users, it means that users have no control over how their private information is used or shared. To protect privacy, experts recommend using anonymous profiles, avoiding sharing personal details, and understanding sites' privacy policies which often allow wide sharing of user data.
2. Introduction
• Some social media sites have started selling
information about their users to third parties.
These third parties take personal information
that has been shared with users friends and
families, and use it to try to advertise to
specific people better. This may seem
harmless, but knowing that your personal
information is no longer personal at all can be
quite frightening.
3. Examples of Companies Selling Users
Information to Third Parties
– Facebook makes money by selling information about
your friends, hobbies, age, relationship status, etc.
– Google uses information from Gmail’s, things you’ve
searched, etc. to make money from advertisers
– Twitter uses “tweets” to make a profit
by selling the popular ones to advertisers
– YouTube targets ads based on videos watch
4. Cont’d
– Pinterest is legally allowed to sell names,
numbers, email addresses, and third parties
– LinkedIn has a new “Pro” option that
charges users for a feature that tells
them who has visited their page and what they
thought of it
– Tumblr has sold its users’ information to Yahoo!
Hendricks, 2014
5. Facebook
– Facebook has released that they sell personal
information to advertisers, developers and partners
– Personal information posted on Facebook by users is
being shared with millions of companies
– When Facebook users “Like” something, information
is given to advertisers
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/f
acebook-is-using-you.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&
Facebook Logo
Detail, n.d
6. Google
• Where does Google’s Money come From?
– Google made an estimated $36.5 billion through
advertising in 2011
• How does Google make it’s money?
– Google sells information from users anywhere
from a Google search to information inside a
Gmail
http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/trusting-
your-private-data-to-google-is-like-trusting-your-
chickens-to-mr-fox-1173302
Google is Evil,
n.d.
7. Twitter
• Twitter sells promoted tweets to firms
interested in learning more about consumers
• Twitter generated $32 million licensing its
data
• Once firms have purchased information from
Twitter, they resell the data to analytics
companies.
http://business.time.com/2013/10/08/twitter-
is-selling-access-to-your-tweets-for-millions/
Evil Twitter
Logo, 2012
8. • LinkedIn sells information to its own users,
offering to show them who’s viewed their
profile.
• This feature is called the “Pro” feature.
• LinkedIn promotes its own privacy policy, that
it has personally violated by selling
information back to users.
http://www.hive76.org/linkedin-is-selling-your-
clicks-and-violating-its-own-privacy-policy
Logo for Linkedin, 2013
9. Pinterest
• It is recorded in Pinterest’s privacy policy that
users’ information can be sold.
• It is not known specifically what is sold
• But the company is able to sell any information it
collects, such as:
– Names
– Phone numbers
– Email adresses
– And more
http://blog.hotspotshield.com/2013/06/25/social-
media-privacy-concerns/
10. • Tumblr sold all of its information to Yahoo!
• Tumblr is a blog style website where users often
feel it’s appropriate to share extremely personal
information to their readers
• Giving a magnitude of personal information to
one of the internet’s largest corporations many
are considering a huge breach in user privacy
http://blog.hotspotshield.com/2013/06/25/social-
media-privacy-concerns/
Logo for Tumblr, n.d
11. • YouTube has converted over to target
marketing.
• This is controversial because YouTube has to
sell information about what users are watching
to companies to show Ads that directly targets
each user’s interests.
• Google has emphasized that this service is only
done on YouTube.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/
11/googlethemedia-google
YouTube
12. Legality
• Before a user can access a social network, he or
she must read and accept a privacy policy.
• It is understood by social networks that most
users neglect to read these policies
• This allows for social networks to put
controversial statements in their policies
• This takes the legal responsibility away from
social networks
https://www.privacyrights.org/social-networking-
privacy-how-be-safe-secure-and-social#laws
Law, 2013
13. How to Protect Yourself
• Avoid
– Full names when signing up for social media sites
– Using your everyday email account when signing
up for social media so that it won’t be spammed
with junk mail
– Using these social media sites all together if you
are very concerned about your personal
information being sold to larger companies
Internet Security,
n.d.
14. Implications
– Information found online has been used against
people in court because legally law enforcement is
allowed to have full access to anything online
– You may be turned down for credit or insurance
because these companies have access to your
online information
– Users have no ability to know where their
personal information has gone or where it is being
stored
15. In Summary
– Large internet companies have been able and will
continue to sell your personal information online
– There are many ways to protect yourself from
these companies and keep your information
personal
– Ultimately the best thing to do is properly educate
yourself on the user agreements before signing
your life away
16. References
Google is Evil. n.d. Evil Google logo. Retrieved from
http://images.seroundtable.com/google-is-evil-300x270-1314103412.jpg
Facebook Logo Detail. n.d. Facebook logo. Retrieved from
http://www.underconsideration.com/bran
dnew/archives/facebook_logo_detail.gif
Huffington Post (2014). Social Media. Retrieved from
http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-05-06-socialmedia.jpg
Hendricks, D. (2014). Social Media Tips. Retrieved from
http://drewahendricks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/social-media-
tips.jpg
Evil Twitter Logo. (2012). Twitter Bird with Horns. Retrieved from
http://www.hyphenet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/twitter-bird-
with-horns.png
Logo for Linkedin. (2013). Linkedin Logo. Retrieved from
http://www.nitahelpinghand.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/linkedin-
logo.png
Logo for Tumblr. n.d. Tumblr Logo. Retrieved from
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Tumblr_Logo.svg
17. References
Law. (2013). Gavel picture. Retrieved from http://www.everything-
taxidermy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/law.jpg
Internet Security. n.d. Lock and earth. Retrieved from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-
RVgH8LzKEW4/TsEH6FCpyXI/AAAAAAAAA
A0/HzzfbqeAQN4/s1600/internetsecurity.png
Andrews, L. (2012). Facebook is Using you. Sunday Review. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/facebook-is-using-
you.html?pagewanted=all&_r=4&
Luckerson, V. (2013). Twitter is Selling Access to your Tweets for Millions. Time.
Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2013/10/08/twitter-is-selling-
access-to-your-tweets-for-millions/
Marshall, G. (2013). Trusting your private data to Google is like trusting your chickens
to Mr Fox. Techradar. Retrieved from
http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/trusting-your-private-data-to-
google-is-like-trusting-your-chickens-to-mr-fox-1173302
Jmil. (2012). LinkedIn is selling your clicks and violating its own Privacy Policy. Hive76.
Retrieved from http://www.hive76.org/linkedin-is-selling-your-clicks-and-
violating-its-own-privacy-policy
18. References
Nguyen, P. (2013). Social Media Privacy Policy Loopholes You
Need to Know About. Hotspot Shield. Retrieved from
http://blog.hotspotshield.com/2013/06/2 5/social-
media-privacy-concerns/
Kiss, J. (2009). Google introduces targeted display ads on sites
including YouTube. Theguardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/m
ar/11/googlethemedia-google
(2014). Fact Sheet 35: Social Networking Privacy: How to be S
afe, Secure and Social. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
Retrieved from https://www.privacyrights.org/social-
networking-privacy-how-be-safe-secure-and-
social#laws
