フェイスブック、位置情報不許可ユーザーの居場所も特定可能

【サンフランシスコＡＦＰ＝時事】交流サイト（SNS）最大手、米フェイスブックは、ユーザーが位置情報サービスで許可しない（オプトアウト）を選択したとしても、その現在地を特定できることが分かった。同社が米上院議員2人の情報開示請求に応える書簡の中で明らかにした。（写真はタブレットに表示された米フェイスブックのロゴ）
　１７日に公開され拡散した書簡の中で、フェイスブックはユーザーが正確な位置情報を共有しないことを選んだ場合でも、現在地を特定できる方法を解説した。ユーザーの現在地を特定する手掛かりは、特定の場所で撮った写真に付けられたタグや、友人と一緒に夕食を取るために訪れたレストランなどでのチェックイン機能の使用などだという。
　フェイスブックは、ユーザーの位置情報を把握することで、近隣店舗の広告表示からハッカー対策、デマ対策まで、さまざまな面でメリットがあると強く主張。例えば欧州在住のユーザーのアカウントへの南米からのログインなど、不審な動きを検出しアカウントを保護するのにも役立っているという。
　共和党のジョシュ・ホーリー上院議員は、「オプトアウトは存在しない。自分の個人情報をどうすることもできない」「これがＩＴ大手だ。だからこそ連邦議会は対策を講じる必要がある」とツイッターに投稿した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2019/12/19-09:01）

Facebook can determine where users are even if they opt out of having their whereabouts tracked, the company revealed in a letter sent to US senators.
In the missive, which was widely shared on social media Tuesday, Facebook explained ways it can still figure out where people are after they have selected not to share precise location data with the company.
The social network, which was responding to a request for information by two senators, contended that knowing a user's whereabouts has benefits ranging from showing ads for nearby shops to fighting hackers and battling misinformation.
There is no opting out. No control over your personal information, Republican Senator Josh Hawley said in a tweet.
That's Big Tech. And that's why Congress needs to take action.
Facebook said that clues for figuring out a user's location include being tagged in a photo at a specific place or a check-in at a location such as at a restaurant during a dinner with friends.
People may share an address for purchases at a shopping section at Facebook, or simply include it in their profile information.
Along with location information shared in posts by users, devices connecting to the internet are given IP addresses and a user's whereabouts can then be noted.
Those addresses include locations, albeit a bit imprecise when it comes to mobile devices linking through telecom services that might only note a town or city.
Facebook said knowing a user's general location helps it and other internet firms protect accounts by detecting when suspicious login behavior occurs, such as by someone in South America when a user lives in Europe.
IP addresses also help companies such as Facebook battle misinformation by showing the general origin of potentially nefarious activity, such as a stream of politically oriented posts which might be aimed at a particular country.
Facebook said recently that it is ready for a data privacy law that is to go into effect in its home state of California at the start of next year.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will give internet users the right to see what data big tech companies collect and with whom it is shared.