The "like" button is causing controversy.

We have been talking a lot about social networking websites in class the past few weeks so I decided to write my blog on one of the most popular social networking sites...Facebook. One of my friends had told me they heard something on the news about controversy with the "Like" button on facebook. I decided to look more into this and I was surprised to find that many legitimate websites talking about the "Like" button. I never really thought twice about using the "Like" button. In my eyes it was just an easier way to comment on a picture or post without really commenting. For example, instead of writing "cute picture" I would just hit the "Like" button. I never really "Liked" pages or celebrity fan sites, even thought I get tons of people inviting me to "Like" pages they "Like." Here are two of the most interesting websites I found on controversy, and even lawsuits, surrounded around the "Like" button.

This first case deals with minors using the "Like" button. This article discusses David Cohen v. Facebook. Cohen says that there are been millions of cases where Facebook has "misappropriated a minors name or likeness for profit." Naturally, Facebook fights back and releases this statement, "We believe this suit is completely without merit and we will fight it vigorously. The complaint misunderstands the law, it’s intent and the way Facebook works. For example, plaintiffs assert that minors are marketing Facebook through search engines but we do not allow minors to include their profiles in search engines,” said Andrew Noyes, Facebook’s manager of public policy communications. Cohen says he was fighting for all Facebook users, especially minors, who have been "used" by Facebook and other advertising companies. Here is the link to the article; http://mashable.com/2010/08/27/facebook-class-action-suit/.

The second article I found was on CNN's website. This article discusses how the "Like" button is a security issue. Since the "Like" button is now linked to other Webpages, it tracks all of the sites that are viewed by a particular user. According to this article, the Facebook Chief Executive said this like to other webpages makes Facebook and its users more "social." I never really considered that this was a security issue until I read this CNN site. I think after learning more about the "Like" button I have learned to be much more careful when using it. Here is the link to the CNN article; http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/06/02/cnet.facebook.privacy.like/index.html