Facebook using the information we have made available on their network ("intrusive data collection") doesn't really have a negative impact on us as users. At least not in any tangible way.
Absolutely. A class-action lawsuit against a mobile analytics company I own a chunk of was thrown out of court recently for exactly that - failure by the plaintiffs to establish actual injury or harm.
If there's no injury, there's no standing, and therefore there's no case.
I refer you to the Beacon advertising adventure. Where Facebook was "just using the data we make available on their network," and users fought back and won.
You last sentence starts with "If there's no injury," which seems to be the topic of discussion here.
Users won, did they? How much were they individually compensated? (No need to look up the answer - users received nothing.)
Facebook settled that particular lawsuit, so no judge had an opportunity to determine whether there was an actual injury or not. Facebook itself admitted no wrongdoing - settling this sort of thing usually means you've done a cost-benefit analysis and it's cheaper and easier to just pay off the lawyers.
As for the independent privacy foundation that Facebook was required to fund - anyone here heard from it lately? (Anyone here heard of it at all?)
And as for Beacon itself being closed - well, it certainly doesn't look like it slowed down Facebook much, did it?
The Beacon lawsuit did nothing for anybody, aside from the plaintiffs' lawyers. Arguing that 'users won' is delusional.
