Online Social Networks and E-Commerce - MIT Computer Science ...

Clarence Lee and Shirley Fung
Figure 6 – Example of the Where I’ve Been application displayed on a Facebook profile
The Where I’ve Been application allows users to specify what areas in the world he has visited, lived, or
desires to visit. Aside from storing all of a user’s past travel information, the application also stores the
user’s profile and social network information. From the social network information, it gathers about you,
the application allows you to compare your travel map with your friends.
Automatic Information
Aside from the information collected by the various components of Facebook above, there is a certain
amount of information that is automatically aggregated whenever you visit a commercial website.
Information such as the IP address, browser type, pages visited, time visited, and click stream data are all
collected by Facebook. In addition, Facebook explicitly states in their Privacy Policies that your IP address
may be sent to third-party advertisers. In addition, companies who advertise with Facebook may
download cookies and “web beacons” on to your machine to track the effectiveness of their
advertisements. Users should be aware that Facebook states that once the information is out of their
hands, they are not held responsible for how third parties use the collected information.
Data Collected by Amazon
Amazon.com collects a lot of information as soon as a user visits the Web site. We requested a short
interview with a representative from Amazon.com to understand what procedures are taken to protect
consumer privacy against government intrusions. It appears that Amazon.com does consider consumer
privacy as an important concern, understanding that book sale records are sensitive personal information.
Patty Smith, the Director of Corporate Communications at Amazon.com, stated that “in some cases,
[Amazon.com] have challenged the validity of subpoenas when the party seeking the information failed to
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