Privacy? On the internet? Don’t be ridiculous

By SARA SHINNICK
FACEBOOK has 400 million users worldwide, is the fastest growing social medium ever, and is supposedly the start of the social revolution. So why are so many people being caught out and practically serving up personal information to strangers?

People of all ages use Facebook as a way to communicate and keep in touch with friends. Photos are shared between friends, and sometimes with the world if you’re not careful.

Facebook’s privacy policy has been heavily criticised for they way it handles users information. A recent review of the policy has seen changes made that appear to make users information more private, however not completely.

The main issues users face are to do with the privacy of information that is displayed on their Facebook pages. It is a concern for some that information they display can be used by Facebook in other ways and hackers can gain access to their accounts.

Last week Facebook announced a review of its privacy policy at the f8 conference in America. The policy was made available on the internet for seven days after the conference, allowing users to post comments and approve the changes. In the newly revised privacy policy, Facebook advises users to consider their privacy settings before sharing information on Facebook. This includes making sure profiles are set to private, allowing only friends access to certain information.

Facebook profile pictures can be displayed in Google, an act, Facebook says that will make finding old friends easier. But is Facebook as innocent in all this as it declares to be? Contrary to what many believe, Facebook advises in its privacy policy that a users name, profile picture, friends list, gender geographic location and networks are public information, even if your profile has been set to make all information private. The solution? Delete any information on your Facebook page you would not want to be made public.

Facebook also declared changes to their policy including the use of information such as age, gender and friends lists can be now be given to certain companies for advertising and marketing purposes. When a user visits certain websites, their information is automatically sent to that company for use indefinitely, within reason. Facebook previously provided information to external companies with a limit on the amount of time they were allowed to access it for. Other changes include the addition of ‘like’ and ‘recommend’ buttons to many popular websites. If a Facebook user clicks on these buttons to recommend the page to friends, they are allowing that website access to their personal information, without knowing.

Aside from the obvious exchange of information, there are a growing number of identity thefts and hackers who use Facebook to access private profiles. As a general rule, Facebook warns users to be wary of adding friends they don’t know.

Avid Facebook user, Jay Hitchen says he is not concerned about his privacy on Facebook. He says it is the responsibility of the user to make sure they only provide information and photos they are happy for everyone to see. “I don’t put anything on my Facebook that I don’t want everyone to know.” He says by posting photos on the internet, you should expect anyone to access and see them, even if your settings are private. “I have about 1500 friends on my Facebook and I probably only talk to like 300 of them,” he says, “I’ve had to delete the most obscene comments from photos. It doesn’t worry me, but I still don’t have to read those comments.”

In the fight against identity theft, Facebook says they are taking steps to ensure Facebook remains safe. When they detect an account has been compromised, the account is suspended and the actual user must change their password and take steps to confirm the account is secure. Facebook user Sophie McAllister says she received error messages from Facebook forcing her to change her password and confirm her identity, as a hacker tried to access her account.

Recent media coverage suggests Facebook is becoming a place for opinions to be heard, with groups and pages being set up for just about anything. Facebook says it monitors accounts, yet with 400 million users, it is impossible to detect all criminal content and inappropriate language before it reaches unsuspecting users, and in some cases children. The Australian Federal Police last week declined to comment on whether Facebook was becoming an important tool for policing and detecting crime or whether it is becoming a place for criminal activity.

The Australian Federal Police in association with Microsoft have developed the ‘Think You Know’ campaign on cyber safety for parents, teachers, carers and internet users. On the website, users can report inappropriate content, cyber bullying or scams they come across on social networking sites.

As part of their cyber safety scheme, The Australian Government is about to implement a new Internet Service Provider (ISP) internet filter system that would block content from overseas hosted sites that have been refused classification.

The Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy declined to comment at this time on the evolution of social networking sites and how content on Facebook websites will be covered by the ISP filter. However, Policy Adviser for the Minister for Communications Emma Dawson says the ISP internet filter is not in fact a filter; it is a complaint system and will only block content that has been refused classification as listed by the Australian Communication and Media Authority. The chances of this affecting social networking sites is not likely, unless the content posted is on the refused classification, which would be blocked to Facebook users in Australia.

Acting AFP National Manager High Tech Crime Operations Karl Kent said in media release identify theft is largely becoming a big issue with users of social networking sites. “Young people in particular are not aware of the risks of accepting friendship requests from people they do not know and have never met. Even accepting ‘friends of friends’ can sometimes be risky,” he says. “Children are providing personal details on these sites such as their full name, date of birth, their place of residence and even the school they attend. They would not provide this kind of information to a stranger so why put it online?”

In a statement on the 13 April 2010, Facebook advised of a Safety Advisory Board that would give expert advice on cyber-bullying and how to report policy violation to Facebook. It is important users are aware of their privacy settings. Users should delete any information they do not want strangers to see. This includes potential employers, who may gain access to profiles (which are set to public) and photos that could jeopardise a potential employment opportunity.

Facebook recently came under fire for allowing offensive and inappropriate content to be posted on tribute sites for a murdered 8 year old girl and 12 year old boy, Elliot Fletcher, both from Queensland in February this year. Police say they are working with Facebook to track down and prosecute the offenders. In an interview with Queensland’s News Mail, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said there is a danger to how Facebook sites are monitored and what consequences that ultimately has for the community. “I think there is a broader debate here about Facebook sites generally and about the control and establishment of them and the obvious ability for them to be hijacked by people who really, quite frankly, have very sick values,” Commissioner Atkinson said.

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said in a media release “Simply stopping to think about the consequences of sending a particular message, or posting something online, may help to reduce negative experiences.” He says “It is important to remember that once something is posted, it can be online forever.”

With 400 million users worldwide, Facebook’s popularity is continuing to rise and as the way of the future, all users need to be aware of the risks they take when using the internet as a social network for communication.