The fall-out continues from Facebook s controversial study of emotional contagion online, with more criticism being raised on Thursday.
First, a leading privacy watchdog group, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, arguing that Facebook failed to tell users that their data would be shared with third-party researchers, or that they would be subject to such studies. EPIC is also alleging that the study amounts to a violation of a 2012 consent order with the FTC, which settled earlier charges of privacy abuses by the social network.
And now the scientific journal that published the study has formally voiced its concern over the manner in which Facebook collected data from users who participated in the study.
As a private company, Facebook wasn t obliged to follow the so-called Common Rule of ethical safeguards that government and academic researchers must follow, the editors of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said in a statement posted on the journal s website.
But they added:
It is nevertheless a matter of concern that the collection of data by Facebook may have involved practices that were not fully consistent with the principles of obtaining informed consent and allowing participants to opt out.
Stay tuned …
