Marketing 13th Edition by Gary Armstrong, Philip Kotler

Exercise 13

Facebook changed its policy and now allows teens' posts to become public. Before the change, Facebook would allow 13-to 17-year-old users' posts to be seen only by their "friends" and "friends of friends." Now, however, their posts can be seen by anyone on the network if teens choose to make their posts "public:' Twitter, another social medium gaining popularity with teens, has always let users, including teens, share Tweets publicly. But because of Facebook's vast reach, privacy advocates are very concerned about this latest development, particularly when it comes to children's safety. Online predators and bullying are real safety issues facing youth. Other criticisms of Facebook's decision boil down to money-some argue that the change was just about monetizing kids. Facebook can offer a younger demographic to advertisers wanting to reach them.
Facebook defended its actions, saying the change in policy is due to teenagers wanting the ability to post publicly, primarily for fundraising and promoting extracurricular activities such as sports and other school student organizations. Facebook has added precautions, such as a pop-up warning before teens can post publicly and making "seen only by friends" as the default that must be changed if the teen desires posts to be public.
Is Facebook acting responsibly or merely trying to monetize kids as critics claim? (AACSB: Communication; Ethical Reasoning)