On Facebook, a hunt for the spooks of tomorrow
Spook recruiters are no doubt thrilled by the news last week that Facebook would expand its offerings of targeted ads. The Central Intelligence Agency has already employed Facebook as a "peer-to-peer marketing tool" to advertise openings. Facebook's new direct marketing allows advertisers to target specific interest groups and eventually, based on historical trends and the behavior of similar users — think of those Amazon.com or Netflix recommendations — Facebook says it will be able to predict products its users will be interested in. Now the CIA and other government agencies will be able to recruit fresh candidates before they even realize they want to be a spy.