Facebook will for the first time provide a disclaimer explicitly stating that users who click “Like” buttons on certain products can be used at any time as spokespeople for those products in paid advertisements, which appear in the “sponsored stories” section of the website, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Facebook will also give users an “opt-out” ability, though it is unclear whether or not this will allow them to still “Like” content online, as well as more granular settings for what types of clicks can lead to their being used as advertisers.
Previously Facebook users were unwittingly used for advertisements based on content they “Liked”, resulting in a hilarious episode of a man being used as a pitchman for personal lubricant, despite his posting the content as a joke.
The changes, which Facebook has agreed to introduce in the next six months, is one condition of Facebook’s settlement of a class-action lawsuit filed against the company in California.
(H/T: Anthony De Rosa, Matthew Keys)
