Palo Alto, Calif. – After Google (NASD: GOOG) stopped allowing Facebook
to access a user’s Contacts to help build their Facebook friend lists —
prompted by what Google called Facebook’s refusal to share data with third
parties — Facebook has created a technological workaround, TechCrunch reported.
The workaround sees Facebook linking directly to Gmail’s contacts export tool
— where Google allows users to download a file containing their Gmail contacts
— and then prompts users to upload that contacts file to Facebook.
Google first responded to the move in
a statement. "We’re disappointed that Facebook didn’t invest their time in
making it possible for their users to get their contacts out of Facebook. As
passionate believers that people should be able to control the data they
create, we will continue to allow our users to export their Google
contacts."
Google followed up that statement with a new warning that is being displayed to users who use the
Facebook workaround to import Gmail contacts.
The warning reads in part, "Hold
on a second. Are you super sure you want to import your contact information for
your friends into a service that won’t let you get it out?"
"We think
this is an important thing for you to know before you import your data there.
Although we strongly disagree with this data protectionism, the choice is
yours."
The warning also includes the ability for a Gmail user to "register
a complaint over [Facebook’s] data protectionism" via an online form.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/333299o
(TechCrunch)
http://tinyurl.com/2dwkz8g
(TechCrunch)
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/facebook-google-showdown
