Retailers and Facebook Conspire to Target Advertising
December 22, 2019
Facebook’s purchase tracking has moved into brick-and-mortar stores, thanks to the cooperation of major retailers. CanIndia cites a report from Business Insider in its write-up, “Facebook Now Tracks In-Store Shopping, Targets Users with Ads. We learn:
“Facebook has joined hands with top retailers who are sending the social networking giant data on what the customers are buying in retail stores. Facebook, in turn, is targeting those customers with specified ads. Not just online shopping, Facebook is able to track what customers buy in stores and target those customers with ads, according to a Business Insider report. Retail companies are sending Facebook ‘names, phone numbers and email addresses attached to what products people have purchased, which are then used to target people with those businesses’ ads’.”
The article names Macy’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods as two major retailers already playing this game. Since Facebook makes nearly all its revenue through advertising, it is motivated to sell more ads by any means necessary. We are reminded that, earlier this year, researchers found Facebook was targeting ads using phone numbers and other personal data users did not explicitly provide to them. The company tried some damage control in July with a new set of steps that they say give consumers more control over how their information is used. We have seen, though, that the company can be slippery with language when it comes to user control over these things.
Cynthia Murrell, December 22, 2019
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