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WSJ: Your MySpace Data Is Leaking to Advertisers

by Amar Toor on October 25, 2010 at 10:45 AM

myspace leakAccording to an investigation conducted by the Wall Street Journal, MySpace and some of its applications have been leaking user data to third-party advertisers, just months after the social network pledged to change its data-sharing ways. Advertisers reportedly obtained user information via advertisements placed on the site. Each clicked ad gave companies access to that user's MySpace ID, the unique number that can be used to find a person's MySpace profile. Some MySpace applications -- including TagMe, GreenSpot and RockYou Pets -- were also leaking user IDs, according to the Journal's investigation.

A MySpace spokesman acknowledged that a leaked user ID could indeed locate a person's profile, but it wouldn't necessarily provide advertisers with his or her full name. MySpace, after all, allows users to hide their real names on their profiles, which are assigned under customized 'display names.' Essentially, then, the only data a user ID holds is whatever information a user has already chosen to make public. The spokesman added that MySpace would be "taking appropriate action" against app developers mentioned in the Journal's report.

Tags: ads, advertising, myspace, NewsCorp, privacy, SocialNetworking, top, wall street journal, WallStreetJournal

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