Why Facebook's New 'Anonymous Login' Matters

Facebook is moving one step closer to becoming your all-access pass to the Internet. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company plans to offer “Anonymous Login.” Don’t get confused: That doesn’t mean you can log in to Facebook anonymously. It means you can use your Facebook account to log-in to other sites and apps anonymously. Facebook the data broker will still know every service their users are signed up for, making them even more valuable to advertisers who want to target particular groups. By giving users the power of anonymity for services outside of Facebook, the company makes itself more valuable as the broker who grants access to those users, about which it knows so much. In other words, anonymous login is not really anonymous. Facebook still knows who you are, and can tie you to your behavior on those third party sites, say if law enforcement comes calling.