Technology
Social networking firms including Facebook and Twitter are being told to make it clearer to members how they collect and use their data. The BBC reports:
A report by the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee says the firms' terms and conditions are far too long and complex. The MPs say users may not be aware of how their details can be used by websites and apps.
Any reasonable person would struggle with long privacy policies, they add. The committee says reading such documents has been likened to "engaging with Shakespeare". And it says that the rules have been designed for use in US courtrooms and to protect organisations in the event of legal action rather than to convey information.
The Chairman of the Committee, Andrew Miller MP, pointed to an experiment where Facebook had manipulated users' emotions by varying the stories they saw in their newsfeeds.
He said this "highlighted serious concerns about the extent to which ticking the 'terms and conditions' box can be said to constitute informed consent when it comes to the varied ways data is now being used by many websites and apps".
Twitter has added a new feature called “app graph”, which gathers a list of all the other apps you have installed on your smartphone in order to deliver better targeted advertising to its users. SmartCompany writes:
While the additional data might allow small businesses advertising via Twitter to better target their ads, the Facebook-like move is likely to unsettle privacy advocates and users with concerns about their privacy.
“To help build a more personal Twitter experience for you, we are collecting and occasionally updating the list of apps installed on your mobile device so we can deliver tailored content that you might be interested in,” Twitter said on its website.
The social media giant claims the list will “help build a more tailored experience for you on Twitter” and that it does not collect information stored within third party apps, just which apps you have installed.
Aside from showing users “more relevant promoted content”, Twitter said the data harvested will improve “who to follow” and help the social network make “suggestions content to your timeline that we think you'll find especially interesting”.
