Lawmakers accuse Facebook of ducking questions on its privacy practices

Reps. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX) accused Facebook of evading questions about whether it tracks users in order to deliver targeted ads. The co-chairmen of the Congressional Privacy Caucus said the social networking giant failed to adequately answer questions raised by the patent application that suggest Facebook could be tracking users on other websites. Facebook has denied tracking users, arguing its social plug-ins are voluntary.

The pair wrote Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in November about the patent application and a Facebook spokesman insisting the firm "does not track people across the Internet." "The practice of obtaining patents on inventions without launching products based on them is common in the technology industry, and no conclusions should be drawn about a company's practices, products or services from the patents it files, acquires or holds in its portfolio," Facebook said in its response.