Members of Facebook have compelled the social networking site to alter the way a controversial ad system functioned. Over 50,000 Facebook users have signed a petition calling on the company to abandon or change its Beacon advertising technology. Activist site MoveOn led the protests against Beacon and also set up the petition for gathering signatures on 20 November.

Members of Facebook have compelled the social networking site to alter the way a controversial ad system functioned. Over 50,000 Facebook users have signed a petition calling on the company to abandon or change its Beacon advertising technology. Activist site MoveOn led the protests against Beacon and also set up the petition for gathering signatures on 20 November.

This ad technology informed friends and businesses what the Facebook members bought or looked at when shopping online. These kinds of data intrusion were considered by many as an exposure to an uncomfortable level of scrutiny.

With the protests against the ad technology coming in, 55 million members of Facebook will be having more control over whether the data about their online activities is used for Beacon. Before the changes to the working of Beacon ad system were made, Beacon was an "opt out" system. Facebook has apologised for its actions through a letter posted on its website.

At present, Beacon will be an "opt in" system, which tracks data only when explicit permission is granted to Facebook for doing so. Over 40 websites signed up to use Beacon software on their webpages as well as report the activities of the Facebook users online. The list of the websites includes Overstock.com, Fandango.com and Blockbuster.

According to Adam Green, a spokesman for MoveOn, the protest says a lot about the ability of Internet users to group together for making a difference.