(no subject)

[pensnest]

I'm glad I'm not signed up to FaceBook. Not that I would have anticipated them using their customers as lab rats, but I can't say I'm actually surprised.

Comments

[pensnest]

There do seem to be being questions asked about the ethical side of things! I wonder if FaceBook sneaked a consent of some kind into whatever terms and conditions people have to sign up for? Nobody ever reads that stuff...

I can see the temptation to use *all those users* as data. But, eh.

[manna]

The ToS says that the data you give FB may be used for internal research, which the people who wrote the paper seem to be claiming is enough. But human subject research requires explicit, informed consent, and the ability to withdraw from the research. Even if the Facebook ToS stated that Facebook might at any time use you as guinea pigs in psychology experiments, that still wouldn't be enough to fulfill the conditions of PNAS's own editorial policy.