Facebook is the latest technology company to use the internet to sell ads, a move that threatens to make it harder for Australians to access their online privacy and security.
Read more:Facebook and Google are the latest tech companies to use internet to market advertisingSource: AAPRead moreOn Wednesday, the Australian Privacy Foundation (APF) said that Facebook had broken Australia’s data protection law by using its advertising technology to target Australians with targeted ads.
Facebook told Fairfax Media it had “no plans to change the way it uses data for ad targeting”.
“This means that Facebook is breaching the Australian Data Protection Act by using ad targeting technology that is based on user behaviour and not on personal information,” it said.
In response, Facebook said it had implemented a number of changes to its advertising platform and said it “takes data privacy very seriously”.
“We work closely with our partners on data privacy issues and we work closely closely with regulators to ensure we are delivering our privacy policy and terms of service in compliance with the Australian data protection laws,” a spokesperson said.
“Our goal is to provide a secure platform for people to share information and share information securely with their friends and family.
Facebook has updated the terms of use for its Advertisers page, and we continue to make changes to improve privacy and compliance across the platform.”
The APF also questioned Facebook’s data collection methods.
“While Facebook has made significant changes to how it collects data and how it uses it, the company is still failing to meet the APF’s standards for transparency,” it wrote.
“Facebook’s use of targeted advertising in Australia is also a problem.
The APF does not think Facebook has done enough to address the problem.”
Facebook said it would publish a privacy policy in the coming months and would not use targeted advertising for its own advertising.
“We do not use advertising to target people based on how they share their information with us, our partners or the public, but rather to target the people we believe are most likely to use our service and who are most inclined to share their personal information with our team,” it added.
“This includes people who share more than one personal information in a given year and people who are on Facebook at the same time, as well as people who post to Facebook or engage in Facebook activity more than once a month.”
Privacy advocates welcomed the move.
“If you don’t like the way Facebook uses your information, don’t use Facebook,” said Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim.
“If you want to be sure you’re safe online, you should have your own information, so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Privacy is about knowing your own privacy.”
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