Facebook Beacon: Cool Feature or an Invasion of Privacy?

Author
Borchers, B.
Region
North America
Topic
Strategy & General Management
Length
8 pages
Keywords
design
privacy
revenue growth
user privacy
Facebook
Student Price
$4.00
Target Audience
Graduate Students
Undergraduate Students

In November 2007, Facebook introduced Beacon, a feature designed to share a user’s online activities with friends. With concerns for their privacy, outraged Facebook users began expressing their negative feelings about Beacon. The feature soon become a privacy nightmare for the public, instead of the beneficial addition Facebook envisioned it to be. Now the company is left wondering how to handle its mistakes while maintaining a delicate balance between revenue growth and user privacy.