Facebook[3] Beacon is a controversial feature introduced by the social media[2] giant Facebook in 2007. Initially launched with 44 partner websites, it sent user data from these external sites to Facebook to facilitate targeted advertising[1]. However, it raised significant privacy[4] concerns as it shared user activities on News Feed without their consent[5], using a 1×1 GIF[6] web bug and Facebook cookies. This led to widespread criticism and legal challenges, with Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, admitting it was a mistake in 2011. The feature was shut down in 2009 following a class-action lawsuit, which resulted in a $9.5 million settlement for privacy violations and the establishment of a $6 million fund for online privacy initiatives. Despite the controversy, Beacon’s legacy influenced future online tracking regulations and discussions on data sharing ethics, shaping Facebook’s current privacy policies.
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Beacon formed part of Facebook's advertisement system that sent data from external websites to Facebook, for the purpose of allowing targeted advertisements and allowing users to share their activities with their friends. Beacon reported to Facebook on Facebook's members' activities on third-party sites that also participated with Beacon. These activities were published in users' News Feed. This occurred even when users were not connected to Facebook, and happened without the knowledge of the Facebook user. The service was controversial and became the target of a class-action lawsuit, resulting in it shutting down in September 2009. One of the main concerns was that Beacon did not give the user the option to block the information from being sent to Facebook. Beacon was launched on November 6, 2007, with 44 partner websites. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, characterized Beacon on the Facebook Blog in November 2011 as a "mistake." Although Beacon was unsuccessful, it did pave the way for Facebook Connect, which has become widely popular.