Facebook is wishing some of its “Jewish” users a Happy New Year.  Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began Wednesday evening — and some Facebook users received a celebratory message when they logged in. While the note was well received by some, others questioned how exactly the social network was aware of their religious affiliation. In some cases, Facebook users who aren’t Jewish were also served the message.

Source: CNN Technology News

Date: September 21, 2017

Link: http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/21/technology/business/facebook-rosh-hashanah-ad-targeting/index.html

Discussion

1) “Not surprisingly, the social media giant collects troves of data on its users. If you’ve ever clicked on ads — for a retailer or a fashion designer — or posted updates about political topics, the shows you’re watching or holidays, the company pulls that data into your ad preferences page. ”  Why is this completely okay for Facebook to do?

2) What are the issues (political, social, etc.) if any of using gathered data to automatically deliver religious messaging?