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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/15/facebook-new-feature-privacy-concerns
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| Facebook's new promoted-post feature sparks privacy concerns | Facebook's new promoted-post feature sparks privacy concerns |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Facebook announced the launch of a new feature on Friday that allows users to pay to promote their friends' posts. In return for a fee, Facebook promotes the post so that more people see it. | |
| Promoted posts don't function outside of Facebook's regular privacy settings, so people who can't normally see a status update won't be able to see posts that have been promoted. | Promoted posts don't function outside of Facebook's regular privacy settings, so people who can't normally see a status update won't be able to see posts that have been promoted. |
| Still, the new feature has already sparked privacy concerns because you don't have to give your consent for a post to be promoted by one of your friends. | Still, the new feature has already sparked privacy concerns because you don't have to give your consent for a post to be promoted by one of your friends. |
| Facebook insists the new feature is intended to be helpful to users, giving friends the opportunity, for example, to promote posts about charitable activities: "If your friend is running a marathon for charity and has posted that information publicly, you can help that friend by promoting their post to all of your friends," Facebook said in a statement. | Facebook insists the new feature is intended to be helpful to users, giving friends the opportunity, for example, to promote posts about charitable activities: "If your friend is running a marathon for charity and has posted that information publicly, you can help that friend by promoting their post to all of your friends," Facebook said in a statement. |
| But users could just as easily promote embarrassing status updates in jest or out of cruelty. | |
| To use the new feature, which applies to users with fewer than 5,000 friends and subscribers, you select the drop-down menu on the top-right corner of a friend's status update, select "promote and share", and pay the $7 fee. (Facebook is experimenting with the price.) | To use the new feature, which applies to users with fewer than 5,000 friends and subscribers, you select the drop-down menu on the top-right corner of a friend's status update, select "promote and share", and pay the $7 fee. (Facebook is experimenting with the price.) |
| The launch of the feature illustrates how Facebook regards status updates: commodities that can be monetized. Whether or not the feature will generate any significant revenue for the company still remains to be seen, however. | The launch of the feature illustrates how Facebook regards status updates: commodities that can be monetized. Whether or not the feature will generate any significant revenue for the company still remains to be seen, however. |
| Rumor has it that Linkedin is experimenting with a similar feature too, with a roll-out expected some time this year. |