[__jal]

Of course. Facebook (or Google, for that matter) isn't magic, just in possession of a really intrusive nose for others' business and the war chest to do something about it.

Detectives, private or otherwise, are sometimes very skilled at doing the same thing in conversation (of course, this is not automated and very expensive). This isn't news.

What is news is the scope and automation. The surveillance-entertainment complex is unhealthily healthy.