Facebook: Stop Invading My Privacy

Online activist, MoveOn.org, has launched a campaign against Facebook citing the social networking site has violated the privacy of its users by making their transactions public. Facebook is accused of using web beacons to make users' purchase information available on partner sites via their friends' News Feeds which means that others can see your purchases from online retailers, movie rentals, etc. MoveOn has setup an online petition for people to sign and a Facebook group, Petition: Facebook, stop invading my privacy!, for users to show their displeasure with this practice.
Users are apparently able to opt out on Facebook but it is neither easy to do nor easy to see per MoveOn.

The problem with web beacons is that by nature they are hidden...hidden in the page code (usually a 1x1 pixel gif with an associated cookie) and many companies fail to disclose their use of them in their privacy statements which begs the question of informed consent. But beacons are not all bad. They can be used to track user behavior on a web site and record and provide information such as IP addresses, browser being used, pages visited, number of unique visitors, and web usage patterns. The information gathered can be used for good or evil. They can be used to better serve the needs of site users with more relevant and personalized content and improved user experiences. They are also used by third party ad agencies to track the effectiveness of ad campaigns. Or, they can be used to blow surprise gift purchases for its users like on Facebook.