In response to the Facebook Beacon fiasco, Facebook has heard the voice of the people and is righting its wrong. The company which, as part of its social advertising program, implemented web beacons on its site for tracking users and ultimately, sharing that information on third party sites, is modifying this practice. The impetus to change came after MoveOn.org who spearheaded the campaign against Facebook’s use of web beacons and Facebook’s own users rallied against it, claiming it was violation of their privacy and security. MoveOn.org setup an online petition and Facebook group in an effort to curb the company’s questionable practice.

Facebook is not eliminating the beacons but it is now providing more controls to users over the stories that get published to their Mini- and News Feeds allowing users to proactively consent to the sharing of their information such as recent purchases with retailers. They have provided more info about the program and easier access links to that info and has stated that they will continue to refine the program initiative with their users in mind. This is not the first offense by Facebook, when about a year ago its News Feed came under attack resulting in the installation of stronger privacy controls.