One of my regular Twitter contacts sent me the following link about a social networking site I can’t honestly say I’ve come across before, Tagged.com, (which with hindsight seems just as well). It appears the founders allegedly decided it was a good idea to grow Tagged’s user base by tapping in to their users contact lists – without their permission.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is quoted as saying that “This company stole the address books and identities of millions of people,” and is seeking retribution including a fine and with any luck, if the allegations are proven true, something far worse.
While this may not appear to be the most heinous of crimes in the grand scheme of things, if the public at large lose confidence in the companies operating in this space, the potential of social media marketing such as crowdsourcing could be set back many years.
News of this breach of privacy follows hot on the heels of a proposal by the Article 29 working committee to hold social networking sites operating in the European Union accountable for the privacy of site users. While I welcome this move, yet again it appears a little late off the mark…
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