Facebook Breaches Privacy, Wall Street Journal Reports

Facebook Apps Send User Data to Advertisers, WSJ Says

Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc.’s top 10 applications have been transmitting data that can be utilized to identify users to advertising and Internet-tracking firms, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing its own investigation. The applications, known as apps, have been providing users’ “Facebook ID” numbers, which can be used to obtain such information as people’s names, to the third-party companies, the newspaper said today. The apps include Zynga Game Network Inc.’s FarmVille, Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille, it said. Passing on the information, which affects tens of millions of app users, including people who set their profiles to the site’s strictest privacy settings, breaks Facebook’s rules and renews questions about its ability to keep personal information secure, the Journal said.