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   How to Prevent Google from Monetizing Your Face

   Josh Centers

   Google caused a commotion when it announced [1]changes to its Terms of
   Service to allow the search giant to begin using user reviews in ads.
   (Users are alerted to the changes by a bar that appears at the top of
   at least some Google sites.) 'Shared endorsements,' as Google calls
   them, will place your name, photo, comments, and ratings in Web ads
   seen by your friends. This can include businesses reviewed in Google
   Maps, reviews from the Google Play store, and anything on the Web for
   which you've clicked a +1 button.

   [2][tn_Google-ToS-bar.jpg]

   This isn't quite as troubling as it first appears. After all, the
   entire point of reviewing products is to inform the public. That said,
   I have two problems with Google's approach.

   First, if Google is going to monetize the work of its users, then it
   should share the profits. Companies pay celebrities big bucks for
   endorsements ' we common folk should be compensated as well. Such an
   approach would encourage even more users to review products, although
   it might lead to an epidemic of sock puppetry.

   Second, whether or not Google were to share revenues with users, the
   addition of user reviews to Web ads gives Google an uncomfortable
   incentive to encourage positive reviews and possibly hide or sanitize
   negative ones.

   The good news is that it's easy to opt out of shared endorsements, and
   you may already have opted out in the distant past by answering a
   similar question while signing up for Google+. Just visit the [3]Shared
   Endorsements settings page and deselect the checkbox reading 'Based
   upon my activity, Google may show my name and profile photo in shared
   endorsements that appear in ads.' (Parsing the meaning of the checkbox
   with such wording is on par with having to select the Limit Ad Tracking
   option in Apple's iOS privacy settings to opt out of ad tracking; at
   least Apple moved that control from iOS 6's hidden Settings > General >
   About > Advertising location to the sensible Settings > Privacy >
   Advertising spot in iOS 7.)

   [4][tn_Google-Shared-Endorsements-opt-in.jpg]

   While we certainly don't recommend allowing Google to use your work in
   shared endorsements, at least Google lets you opt out. Facebook's
   'sponsored stories' do very much the same thing, and Facebook doesn't
   allow you to opt out, only [5]control who can see your activity.
   (Facebook introduced sponsored stories without changing its terms of
   service and ended up [6]paying $20 million to settle the resulting
   class-action suit.) It's hard to imagine that Twitter isn't planning a
   similar feature.

   And yes, [7]it is legal for these companies to do this ' apart from
   Google's opt-out option, your only real defense is to stop recommending
   things via social media services.

References

   1. http://www.google.com/policies/terms/changes/
   2. http://tidbits.com/resources/2013-10/Google-ToS-bar.png
   3. https://plus.google.com/settings/endorsements?hl=en
   4. http://tidbits.com/resources/2013-10/Google-Shared-Endorsements-opt-in.png
   5. https://www.facebook.com/help/222629841080902
   6. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/08/judge-approves-20-million-facebook-sponsored-stories-settlement/all/1
   7. http://gigaom.com/2013/10/15/heres-why-its-legal-for-google-and-facebook-to-use-your-face-in-ads/

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