Google to put user photos, comments in online ads
Google to put user photos, comments in online ads
By Cecilia Kang, Updated: Friday, October 11, 5:33 PM
Google has made a fortune selling ads. Now it’s trying to
put its hundreds of millions of users to work as company pitchmen, using the
profiles, pictures and recommendations of ordinary people to endorse products
and services across the Web.
After the policy takes effect Nov. 11, users who review a
video on YouTube or a restaurant on Zagat.com could see their name, photo and
comments show up in ads on any of the 2 million Web sites that are part of the
company’s display advertising network.
The controversial practice, announced Friday by Google,
is part of an emerging trend on the Internet. Advertisers believe that
consumers place enormous value on product endorsements that come from a friend
or family member, and growing numbers of Web companies are trying to capture
that social advertising in a systematic way.
But critics say tactics that further exploit the data
people leave online amount to a bait-and-switch. People signed up for Google’s
services because they were free and convenient. They probably never thought
their words and identities would be put in front of strangers to sell a
product.
Users who casually endorse a product or song on Facebook
or Google “may be exposed to unwanted, and possibly misunderstood,
implications,” said Eric Goldman, a professor of Internet law at Santa Clara
University law school.
Google said the launch of “shared endorsements” will help
consumers make better choices. “We want to give you — and your friends and
connections — the most useful information. Recommendations from people you know
can really help,” the company wrote in its announcement.
It added that users can opt out of the ads and that it
will automatically exclude anyone under the age of 18.
The announcement follows a similar advertising feature by
Facebook called “sponsored stories,” which turns a recommendation made through
the social network’s “like” button into an advertising endorsement on a
friend’s Facebook page. The company has said its users cannot opt out of the
practice. About 1.2 billion people are on Facebook.
Last month, the Federal Trade Commission said it would
review whether Facebook’s push into sponsored stories violated the company’s
2011 privacy settlement with the federal government. That agreement required
Facebook to give adequate notice of changes in privacy policies and to make
sure users aren’t misled about how their data is being used.
Due to the government shutdown, the FTC said it could not
respond to a question on whether its investigators would also examine Google’s
new advertising practice.
Google said its new advertising policy would apply only
to the 390 million people who have signed up for Google Plus, the company’s
social network. The company can also draw on endorsements made with Google’s +1
button, which is similar to Facebook’s “like” button and appears on sites
across the Web.
A user who wants to limit the reach of his or her
advertising endorsements could adjust settings so that a positive review for,
say, a car is shared only with a small circle of friends on Google Plus, the
company said.
Some privacy experts commended the way Google is rolling
out the feature by giving users a month’s notice of the changes and options to
decline.
“Some people may like the fact that their reviews will be
promoted and more influential. Others have a pretty easy way to opt out,” said
Jules Polonetsky, executive director of the Future of Privacy Forum.
In May 2012, Google agreed to a $22.5 million FTC fine
for misrepresenting its tracking practices on the Safari browser used on Apple
devices. The settlement included continued supervision of the firm’s
disclosures about how it handles users’ data.
Google said it will display the latest change in its
privacy policy on its main home page, through Google Plus notifications and in
other prominent places.
Still, some privacy advocates remained skeptical of the
search giant.
“This move by Google reflects the growing and unchecked
expansion of online data collection by the industry,” said Jeff Chester,
executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.
Hayley Tsukayama contributed to this report.
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