FTC Settlement with Facebook must empower users and their data--including social media apps

 
Any settlement needs to be evaluated by whether a Facebook user can control all their data, including the advertising applications.  Users need to understand how the ad apps have been constructed to promote data collection, as well as approve of all the ways Facebook gathers information on what we and our networks do.  Here's an example of what should be covered, via Marketing Week:
 
Facebook "can smell a billion users and it’s inviting marketers into the sandbox. But it’s the masterful response to user needs and seamless brand integration that has the social network harnessing resources most advertisers don’t even know exist yet...Facebook’s Studio and “People Talking About” (PTA) are two well-crafted launches making waves. Studio targets advertising agencies, opening up their in-house work process, then socializes that work to optimize its impact...
Launched in October, PTA feeds data-hungry marketers consumer intelligence with a half-dozen measures that peer down a user’s network at friends’ interactions with a brand conversation... Eyeing a trend-spotting bonanza, Sony Playstation, Electronic Arts, Gatorade and Virgin Atlantic have API builds underway to channel PTA’s ad personalization data."
 
Here's what search engine land reported on the new PTA social media surveillance app, launched during the recent Advertising Week: "Facebook is launching a new “People Talking About This” metric for fan pages this week, designed to show conversations happening about a brand or page owner across the web...People Talking about this” counts ‘stories” – structured content that people choose to share through Facebook that is eligible to appear in a user’s news feed:

• liking your Page
• posting to your Page’s Wall
• liking, commenting or sharing one of your Page posts (or other content on your page – like photos, videos, albums)
• answering a Question you posted, RSVP-ing to one of your events
• mentioning your Page, phototagging your Page
• liking or sharing a check-in deal, or checking in at your Place.

 All social media surveliance, whether on Facebook, Google+ or other sites, should be transparent and under the control of the user.