Reps Markey and Barton concerned Facebook patent application means they're tracking users

Reps Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) wrote to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg asking him to explain a February patent application they claim raises concerns about Facebook tracking users on other websites. “Facebook’s patent application raises serious questions about whether the company plans to track users now or in the future,” Rep Markey said. The letter references a report from The Hill last month in which a Facebook spokesman asserted that the firm "does not track people over the Internet." The pair has written to Facebook several times this year over privacy concerns and have suggested the Federal Trade Commission probe the firm. The lawmakers quote experts that claim the patent application contemplates tracking users on websites aside from Facebook and sending them targeted advertisements based on the information gleaned from such tracking.