According to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the privacy issues-plagued Facebook as well as some other social networking sites, including MySpace and Digg, have apparently been stealthily sharing the personal data of their users with advertisers - without either the knowledge of the users or their consent.

As per the report, these sites have supposedly been users’ personal data to advertising companies, which can use the information forwarded for finding out the names and other personal details of the users.

The sharing of data by social networks – a practice that they follow despite claims to the contrary – helps bigwig ad companies, like Google’s DoubleClick and Yahoo’s Right Media, in easily identifying the distinct user profiles.

While some of the social networking sites initially defended their contentious practice of sharing users’ data with advertisers, they initiated the requisite changes when the WSJ questioned them about the practice. Incidentally, the companies had been, thus far, continuing with the surreptitious practice even though it was first reported by researchers from AT&T Labs and Worcester Polytechnic Institute in August last year.

With privacy advocates vehemently opposing such practices on the grounds that they breach industry standards - which prohibit the collection of personally identifiable information without users’ permission -; lawmakers are also working on legislation which can govern websites’ strategies pertaining to collecting information about consumers, and using the data to target ads.