Myspace Settles Charges That It Improperly Shared User Information With Advertisers

This week, the social network Myspace agreed to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission (the "FTC") that Myspace inappropriately disclosed its users' personally identifiable information. Specifically, the FTC charged that Myspace did not honor its own promises to consumers in its privacy policy.

Myspace assigns a unique identifier (a "Friend ID") to each consumer profile. The profile can contain all sorts of personally identifiable information about a user, such as that user's full name, age, picture, interests, friends, etc.. Myspace's privacy policy promised it "would not share users' personally identifiable information, or use such information in a way that was inconsistent with the purpose for which it was submitted," without giving notice, and getting permission from users.