http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/10/ny-comic-con-tells-attendees-not-to-fret-after-it-ghost-tweets-for-them/

NY Comic Con tells attendees not to fret after it ghost-tweets for them


Brian Crecente, Polygon editor, discovers NYCC's tweets on his behalf.

New York Comic Con (NYCC) received many complaints Thursday and into Friday as 
attendees discovered that the event organizers had been tweeting from 
attendees’ accounts without their permission, according to Mashable. NYCC has 
since claimed that the process was opt-in, but its approach was perhaps a bit 
overeager.

NYCC stirred a bit of controversy going into its event by exclusively using 
RFID (radio-frequency ID) badges, which organizers said would smooth entrance 
to the conference and help crack down on fake badges. During the registration 
process, attendees had the opportunity to connect their social media accounts, 
including Facebook and Twitter, to their badges.

Apparently registration and use of those badges included an opt-in to allow 
NYCC to tweet from attendees’ accounts. Numerous requests by Ars via phone and 
e-mail to the organizers to obtain copies of either the opt-in dialogue or 
terms and conditions have not been returned, but the phrasing was apparently 
subtle or unclear enough that many attendees were shocked, annoyed, or 
disturbed to see the Con pushing posts to their accounts without their 
involvement.

The posts took the shape of a generic endorsement for the event—“I <3 NYCC!” 
was a common one—followed by a link to NYCC’s Facebook page. Third-party 
services often ask for permission to “tweet on a user’s behalf,” but that is 
generally taken to mean the service can forward a tweet either composed by the 
user or pre-composed by the service and reviewed by the user, not send a tweet 
without the user’s oversight or permission.

NYCC responded on its Twitter account, telling users, “do not fret if #NYCC-ID 
tweeted as you yesterday!” A representative passed Mashable a statement of 
intent and a non-apology: organizers have “since shut down this service 
completely and apologize for any perceived overstep.”


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