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Facebook KICKS OUT ad stalkers for BREACHING data rules

HasOffers and Kontagent were way too retentive, apparently

Facebook has divorced itself from two analytics firms who didn't stick to the free content ad network's policies on data retention.

AdExchanger reported that HasOffers and Kontagent have effectively been blacklisted from Facebook's mobile version, after violating their contracts.

The stalker outfits had been caught sitting on data for too long and had also failed to get app developers, who make money from ads, to notify users of data-slurping behaviour via updates to privacy policies.

Facebook said:

After working with a third-party auditor to review the practices of all our mobile measurement partners, we discovered that some weren’t adhering to the terms they agreed to.

As a result, we've removed a couple of our partners from the program. We take our contracts seriously, and will continue to act swiftly anytime we find out they are being violated.

The Register understands that the Mark Zuckerberg-run company frequently adds and removes ad partners for all sorts of reasons, but only occasionally spanks them for such infractions.

Facebook has been repeatedly berated by privacy campaigners for failing, in the past, to be upfront with its users about how it makes money from the data they share on its ad-bloated network.

Kontagent copped to the data retention booboo on its blog, though it stressed that no privacy breaches had taken place. In an email seen by Venturebeat last year, HasOffers reportedly acknowledged violations of Facebook's policies relating to allowing admen access to "inappropriate" device-level data. It has not yet made a statement about its current blacklisting. ®

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