Facebook, MySpace Vow to Stop Sharing Your Private Info With Advertisers

MySpace continues to flounder as it tries to figure out how to stay fresh and earn a profit...

Wall Street Journal: "Facebook, MySpace and several other social-networking sites have been sending data to advertising companies that could be used to find consumers' names and other personal details, despite promises they don't share such information without consent."

New Myspace made its debut back in September (when it made our own Drew Olanoff “want to hurl”) but the redesign has only been available to limited beta participants before now. Today, the next-generation version of the site is open to all, with registration possible using either your existing Myspace account, Facebook credentials or signing up as a brand new user.

Facebook today begins testing its own mobile ad network where advertisers can pay to target you with ads for app stores or websites based on your Facebook data that appear while you’re on other apps and mobile sites.

Filed under: Internet, E-mail, Social Software

With half of MySpace’s staff getting the sack following the buyout by Specific Media, will Justin Timberlake’s upcoming “MySpace exclusive” score a home run with end-users, or fail to get past first base?

A new report from Symantec has revealed that potentially millions of Facebook users have been vulnerable to misuse of information by Facebook advertisers for years.

Facebook’s gotten into trouble over the years for auto-sharing e-commerce activity. Determined to avoid another Beacon fiasco or scare people away from Offers they don’t want to tell friends about, Facebook now lets you choose to privately claim an offer rather than automatically share the news to friends.

It’s not if, but when. Between crooks, hackers and foreign governments, Facebook probably can’t avoid a serious user data breach forever.