Social networks are very popular on internet nowadays. Websites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Google Buzz, Linked In, Twitter have millions of users. In fact they provide a space were people can communicate with each other, share personal information, exchange ideas and keep in contact with old acquaintances or to meet new ones. It's also a great place to network with people sharing similar business interests. But on the other hand people or companies which are using social networks for communication might face serious security threats. Of course most of the social networks have privacy policies which keep personal data more or less private. But this issue still remains as somehow one of the most unclear topic for users of these web-sites. However, when users share their information with their friends it can also find its way into the hands of the strangers, the press, the authorities or the public at large. Sometimes even job recruiters are looking to these sites in order to get more background information about their potential employees. Last years these sites tried to improve their privacy policies by giving to users more options how to control information on their personal accounts. It seemed to be an effective solution but I think in fact it led us to the dilemma safety vs personal freedom. What does that mean?While social network websites were dealing with privacy issues one more problem occurred. Apparently a group of pedophiles are using social networks to disseminate child pornography or to discuss child abuse openly. For example, this week the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) has urged Twitter to address its fears that some pedophiles use the site to discuss abuse and link to pornographic images. Twitter said safety was a high priority and it acted immediately on complaints of inappropriate behavior. Twitter users can report accounts in breach of its child protection policy. As this social network allows users to share news or links with certain group of people it helps these groups to hide information from public but still publish child pornography links or just discuss child abuse. Here comes the question if these sites should warn the police about such facts and give this information to authorities? Should they control our private conversations on these sites? Moreover, where is the balance between personal freedoms and safety?
As we see there are two main problems regarding privacy on social network websites which somehow are connected to each other. First the fact that while using social network sites your personal data might be used by others without warning you. And second, by providing users with increased security options these sites also provide them with an opportunity to publish illegal information.
What is the solution? I think that the first problem has at least two sides. Users of these sites should also understand that social networks are more public than private space. For me it's not a place where I would share or discuss very intimate topics. If you decide to post something very personal you should be aware of the fact that you share it with public. It also concerns the contact information we indicate on our accounts such as e-mail address, mobile number or home address. Until one decides to indicate them he/she should be sure he/she wants to share with this information with public. Also it's important to read privacy policies which these sites suggest. How many of you have read these policies? I guess not that much. But on the other hand social network sites should make this process more transparent and maybe even more comfortable as well.
As regards the problem of spreading illegal information, it's more complicated issue. But these sites could react on it faster and more effectively. As users we could also contribute to this process by reporting photos or links which we find inappropriate.
There are some other options how to deal with these problems, for example we could just delete our accounts if we've got one:))) But that's not an option for me :) I don't know how it is for you...
Twitter 'failing' on child abuse, Ceop watchdog warns
Manana
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