In this week’s issue we profiled the softer side of Facebook.

Some people, however, are highly upset at the social networking site for privacy issues. Similar to when the whole world had an aneurysm when the “news feed” was added, many are upset over Facebook’s new buddy-buddy relationship with its advertisers.

For one, Facebook advertisers can use your picture without you knowing. Facebook also has partnered with several sites that track your purchases and make them available on Facebook as part of their new “Beacon” feature. Therefore, along with “so-and-so has left a messege on so-and-so’s wall” you may see “so-and-so just purchased The Da Vinci Code from Amazon.com”.

The worst part? You can’t even opt out.

The uproar has led groups like Moveon.org to start a good ol’ fashioned online petition. And Facebook has fired back:

(B)ut in this case, the MoveOn.org-led group misrepresents how Facebook Beacon works. Beacon gives users an easy way to share relevant information from other sites with their friends on Facebook

This one may get ugly. But if you are one to get apprehensive at the prospect of your information being passing along without you knowing, be sure to double check your privacy features on Facebook, or you can always take your ball and go home (link at bottom to deactivate account).[Sources: bb, The Times, Techcrunch, Cnet, InfoWeekly]