Facebook says tracking nonusers was due to ‘a bug’

Facebook collected data from people who don't use its website
(Image credit: iStock)

Even if you've somehow never visited Facebook.com, there's still a chance your browsing habits were collected by the social networking site.

Analysis from the Belgian Privacy Commission calls out Facebook for its use of cookies to track browsers, a practice the commission said can affect anyone in principle since the Facebook.com domain is so widespread throughout the web. The "Like" button, for instance, is present on more than 13 million websites.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Teresa Mull