She said she knows of parents who - to clean up their kids online reputations go to firms such as Reputation Defender. She said some of these youth are recent university graduates, and their parents are “worried sick” about how all the information they’ve put on a myriad social networking sites would affect their career prospects. A year later, the Fifth Circuit Appeals Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling.Ĭavoukian said many parents she’s spoken to are concerned about their kids activities on social networking sites. The case was dismissed by the District Court of Western Texas, which ruled that that both Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and Texas law barred the Does’ claims. Law suits seeking to hold social networking sites liable for content posted by their members haven’t met which much success.Ī couple of years ago, in Texas, the courts tossed out a $30 million lawsuit filed against MySpace by the parents of a teenage girl, Julie Doe.ĭoe’s parents said their daughter was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on. The idea behind the legislation, said a state senator who sponsored it, is to get registered sex offenders to keep their Internet distance as well as their physical distance. One of these laws, which takes effect January 1, makes it a felony for a registered sex offender to use social networking sites. For instance, in August 2009, the state of Illinois passed two new laws designed to restrict sex offenders use of technology. In some cases legislation is seen as the antidote. “You wouldn’t want your own kids, or anyone for that matter, posting information to Web 2.0 sites that makes them personally identifiable or draws people back to a physical address or location, where they can find someone.”Īcross North America various jurisdictions are trying to minimize the threat posed by sexual or other types of predators scouring social networking sites. Paying attention to the 5 Ps, Cavoukian said, could have vital implications - not just for privacy - but sometimes even for one’s physical safety.
These relate to who may view their postings online, and whether they are comfortable with their information being accessed by these groups. “Specifically, we encourage them to consider the 5 Ps.” But the same principles and best practices would apply to other on other social networks as well, she said. Given the widespread use of Facebook by young Canadians, many of Cavoukian’s tips deal with postings to this site. “We teach them that privacy is about freedom of choice, and that they have control over how much personal information to post online, and who is granted access to it. She said these youngsters, many of whom are entering the workforce for the first time, should realize nothing is ever deleted from the Internet, and whatever they post on social media sites could come back to haunt them. Social net junkies … beware of what you post online “In our experience these face-to-face meetings with students and recent graduates are highly effective.”īanning Facebook and Twitter at work could backfire, says Ontario Privacy Commissioner The focus, she told ITBusiness.ca, is on helping students understand options available to them to protect their privacy online. Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner - as part of her outreach campaign - has visited several colleges and universities to speak to students about the privacy risks inherent in online activities. “Be very proactive about protecting your online privacy,” Ann Cavoukian is urging young people across the province.