[ NNSquad ] NYTimes: Facebook Tinkers With Users' emotions in News Feed Experiment, Stirring Outcry

[Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>]

Facebook Tinkers With Users' Emotions in News Feed Experiment, Stirring Outcry

(NYTimes): http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/technology/facebook-tinkers-with-users-emotions-in-news-feed-experiment-stirring-outcry.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

    "Although academic protocols generally call for getting people's
     consent before psychological research is conducted on them,
     Facebook didn't ask for explicit permission from those it selected
     for the experiment. It argued that its 1.28 billion monthly users
     gave blanket consent to the company's research as a condition of
     using the service.  But the social network's manipulation of its
     users' feelings without their knowledge stirred up its own
     negative reaction. Some Facebook users and critics suggested that
     the company had crossed an ethical boundary."

 - - -

I've been over the lengthy "Data Usage" section of the Facebook TOS a
half dozen times since this story broke. I frankly don't see how any
reasonable person could read that and believe that it gave permission
for the sort of outside-partnered psychological manipulation experiment
as in this case.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
I am a consultant to Google -- I speak only for myself, not for them.
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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