Facebook drops ‘treason’ keyword tag

COPENHAGEN: Facebook has removed “treason” as a keyword to identify its users’ interests for advertisers, it said after Danish broadcaster DR revealed its existence.

In an article on Wednesday, DR cited experts expressing concerns that the tag – that Facebook called an “interest category” – could be used by i nt e l l i g e nce s e r v i c e s i n authoritarian regimes to identify people considered subversive.

Facebook creates categories such as “sports” or “music” based on people’s online interests, allowing firms to target their advertising.

A Facebook spokesman said the tag was removed last week.

“‘Treason’ was included as a category given i t s historical significance. Given it’s an illegal activity, we’ve removed it as an interest category.”

Experts said the tag could have been used by Russian authorities to locate about 65,000 Facebook users whose online behavior marked them as being interested in “treason”.

“When we identify misuse of our ad products, we t ake action. Depending on the violation, we may remove the ad, suspend the ad account or even report the advertiser to law enforcement,” the spokesman said. – Reuters