Facebook Timeline ads plan raises fresh privacy fears

Facebook has found a way to make money from its new Timeline feature less than five months after launching it, repackaging what people “listen” to, “watch,” and “read” into ads and delivering them to their friends.

The new advertising format, which will be rolled out this week, raises new privacy implications, as people who “opt-in” to use the features, offered by companies like Spotify, Warner Bros and The Washington Post, do not have the option of opting out of their activity being used for paid advertising. “There will be a user hue and cry. There will be further reminders that Facebook is using information about users and using their data to sell them to advertisers,” said Rebecca Lieb, an analyst with the Altimeter Group. “After the initial hue and cry, people settle down and accept this stuff. People care more about getting free media than they do about their privacy.”