Facebook Apps Sending Personal Information to Internet Tracking Companies

The Wall Street Journalis reporting that many of Facebook's most popular applications are sending personal information - including users' names and their friends' names - to advertising and Internet tracking companies.

The alleged breach affects tens of millions of Facebook users, including those who set their profiles to Facebook's strictest privacy setting, the newspaper reported.

A Facebook spokesman said the company was taking action to "dramatically limit" the potential exposure of users' personal information. The spokesman said any breach of personal identity was inadvertent.

The applications in question include games such as FarmVille, with 59 million users, Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille.

Most of the apps are produced by independent software developers, not by Facebook. The Journal said that several apps became unavailable after the newspaper told Facebook the apps were transmitting personal information.

The apps studied by the Journal were transmitting Facebook ID numbers to at least 25 advertising and data firms, including several which build profiles of Internet users by tracking their online activities, the newspaper said.

Facebook rules prohibit app developers from transferring user data to outside firms, but the Journal said its revelations make clear that those rules are not always rigorously enforced.

Facebook said it was "committed to addressing" the issue.