Privacy concerns over Facebook's "like" button
Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has revealed concerns over Facebook's "like" button. While the Commissioner very recently announced the conclusion of a prior privacy investigation that began in 2008, she revealed that this new probe was only one of several other issues the Commission has with Facebook. When it was first implemented, the “Like” button was meant only for users on the Facebook website to indicate their preference for items posted on their friend’s Facebook pages. In April, Facebook began to offer its “Like” button to external websites leading to uncertainty over how the private information of users who clicked the button would be used. It is now estimated that over 350,000 websites have adopted the “Like” button with over 65 million clicks to the button a day. Despite these ongoing investigations by the Commissioner, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Counsel Michael Richter maintains that Facebook continues to be dedicated to giving users control over their private information.
