By Zilber
Facebook users are bombarded with targeted ads from nearly 200,000 companies, according to a first-of-its-kind study that revealed the vast scale of data tracking on the Meta-owned social network.
More than 700 Facebook users volunteered for the study by consumer watchdog Consumer Reports, which found that on average each participant had their data sent to the social network by 2,230 companies.
In the most extreme case, one Facebook user had data compiled about them by nearly 48,000 different companies, according to the study, which was done in conjunction with consumer publication The Markup.
The findings come as reports surfaced this week that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be deposed as part of a lawsuit in Texas accusing the company of using facial recognition technology without consumer consent.
The volunteers in the Consumer Reports study pulled three years’ worth of their personal data from the “Download Your Information” tool on Facebook and shared it with researchers.
The data, which includes information about users’ buying habits, is used as part of a technique known as “server-to-server” tracking whereby each company’s servers transmit the information to Meta’s servers.
In all, 186,892 companies sent data about the volunteers to Facebook, the study found.
Meta takes the data and pinpoints which ads to send to specific users based on their tastes, according to the study.
The research found that 96% of the data that was sent was compiled by data brokers that collect consumer information and then sell it other businesses, advertisers and marketers.
The study discovered that some data was compiled by large retailers such as Home Depot, Walmart and Amazon.
Credit reporting agencies such as Experian and TransUnion’s Neustar were also on the list of data collectors, according to the report.
TNH sought comment from Meta.
“We offer a number of transparency tools to help people understand the information that businesses choose to share with us, and manage how it’s used,” a Meta spokesperson told Consumer Reports.
Facebook’s business model is predicated on monetizing user data by selling that information to advertisers, who can tailor their pitches to specific people based on their online preferences.
But the company’s business practices have drawn the ire of regulators across the pond.
In November, the European Data Protection Board agreed to extend a ban imposed by non-EU member Norway on “behavioral advertising” on Facebook and Instagram to cover all 30 countries in the European Union and the European Economic Area.
Meta runs the risk of getting fined up to 4% of its global turnover, the Norwegian data regulator said.
The data board’s decision forces Ireland’s data regulator to impose a permanent ban on the company’s use of behavioral advertising. Meta’s European headquarters are in Ireland.
Since Aug.7, Meta has been subject to daily fines in Norway of $90,000 for breaching users’ privacy by using their data, such as locations or browsing behaviour, for advertising, a business model common to Big Tech.
