Research Paper Outline

Facebook Tracking People through the Internet

       I.          Introduction

a.      Hook: Why allowing a private company to track people on the Internet is bad for most individuals.

b.      Thesis: Facebook tracking people through the Internet, who have logged out of their site and are browsing other sites is an ability that a private company should not be allowed.

c.      A general explanation of how Facebook was tracking people through the Internet.

     II.          Background Information

a.      Explain who found out that Facebook could track people through the Internet.

b.      A general description of a similar case with a different company.

    III.          How Tracking Works

a.      An in-depth description of how Facebook used a certain cookie and the embedded “like” buttons on websites to track people.

b.      More details about who discovered the Tracking.

c.      More details on how the tracking was discovered.

    IV.          In suing Court Cases

a.      A group of statements describing who sued Facebook, and their official charge.

b.      Provide similar examples of other companies that have been taken to court and describe their outcome.

c.      Explain the laws which Facebook violated when they gained the ability to track people through the Internet.

d.      A description what the result of the court case was.

     V.          Facebook’s Public Image And How It Changed Before, During And After The Court Case

a.      A description of Facebook’s stance on the issue before the court case (denial of ability to track/issue).

b.      What changed in their stance during the court case (no much media presence, etc.)

c.      An explication of their stance after the court case (fixed issue and tried to act like they were on the side of the plaintiff the whole time).

    VI.          How Facebook Has Removed its ability to track logged out users through the Web.

a.      An explanation on how the cookie changed to disallow tracking.

b.      A brief description of Facebook’s response to Nik Cubrilovic’s (the original discoverer of Facebook’s ability to track users) inquiry about their modification of the cookie.

  VII.          Lasting implications

a.      A description of what Facebook, society and consumers should learn from this incident.

b.      A description of the legal implications (in the form of possible new laws)

c.      More information on the duty of a consumer to stay informed on the products they use.

VIII.          Conclusion

a.      A heavily modified restatement of why a private company should not have the ability to track their consumers through the Internet.

b.      Any possible reduction in the number for Facebook users because of this incident.

c.      The most important lesson that should be learned from this whole issue.

Facebook Tracking

So far my research is going amazing. One of my sources I am going to use is called “Facebook Sued Over Tracking Cookies.” This article talks about how Facebook was sued by many different people around the United States because cookies, which are little bits of data that are collected about your internet activity by some company such as Facebook, used by Facebook continue to stay in use even after the user logs out, which violates three federal laws; the federal wiretap act, the stored electronic communication act, and the federal computer fraud and abuse act. This article is great for my research because it pertains directly to my topic, which is that Facebook can track any of the user’s through the internet. The article shows that Facebook can already track the user when the user is logged in, which they are allowed to do. However, the article reveals that Facebook can also track the user after they log out through the use of cookies that remain even after the user logs out of their account. Facebook issued a fix for some of these cookies that remain after the user logs out, but they decided to leave some of them, which Facebook said is for security reasons. This forces the user to accept that Facebook doesn’t mean any harm when these cookies stay after the user logs out, which can be very difficult for someone to accept. However, those cookies that are supposedly for security reasons still violate the three federal laws that are listed above. The suit that has been filed says that any collection of data by Facebook after the user logs out is considered violating those federal laws. This means that the users should not be forced to accept that Facebook doesn’t mean any harm by using those cookies. Facebook should be forced to remove those cookies from the site, whether or not they are supposed to be for security reasons. The article mentions that the user can use another browser to access Facebook and use the main browser to browse the internet or that the user can delete every Facebook cookie that exists. However, some users may not know how to delete all of their browsing cookies and using two different browsers can be a hassle and there is a possibility that the user will forget to use the different browsers. Thus, the fact stands that Facebook should not be allowed to keep cookies on a computer after the user logs out.

Research Log Progress

My research log is going fairly well. I have found a few sources, for my new topic. My new topic will be how Facebook is tracking your wear about on the Internet. Through the use of “like” buttons which websites implement to integrate their site more seamlessly with Facebook. They also allow their viewers to share the website on Facebook. This gives the website free advertising if users post that they like an article or some other aspect of a website.  Although Facebook has denied that it can track you through around the internet, the article I found states that a man named Nik Cubrilovic discovered Facebook can track you through the Internet even if you are logged out of their website. It also says that the like buttons are not the only way it could track you. It can use any Facebook App’s you have used and accepted the Terms of service for. The site says that any website you visit that’s connected to Facebook is essentially the same as posting on the Internet or telling your friends that you visit that website. The article then goes on to talk about the ways you can try and prevent Facebook from tracking you. These include Internet Browser plugins and other methods.