International Resource Centre

Our children were born as part of the Internet generation and can hardly conceive a world without connectivity. Some of them start engaging in social networking sites in their early teens. Many parents cheer the ways their kids are learning and the speed at which they master technologies hardly known to them. Parents are fast sidelined as kids create their own space in a cyber world populated by real and virtual friends. Are we parents aware of the hidden rules that govern the Internet?

Social networks

Facebook which is today’s largest social networking site accounts for 350,000,000 registered users. If it were a nation it would be the 3rd on the planet in terms of population number after China and India.

The rules of the game: the unknown

Much has been debated in the news and the blogosphere on how Facebook deals with privacy issues and data ownership. The company recently modified its terms of use and the latest version was published on 21 December 2009. How many parents have taken the time to read these terms?

Do we know that users of Facebook should be of at least 13 years of age? Are we aware of the implications of registering on social networks and sharing our whereabouts, preferences, feelings, and experiences? Do we know what cyber-itinerary will take an image we have posted online?

Facebook terms of use state the following: “you grant us [Facebook] a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content [i.e. photos and videos] that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.”

The likelihood that others have reposted your content is very high.
What does this mean?

The perpetuity of online content

Did you ever consult the Internet Archive better known as Wayback Machine? Click here to see how the site of the Arnhem International School looked like in 2002, 2003, 2004, etc.

Whatever is posted on the Internet is either archived or reposted, in a never-ending loop. In other words what is posted on the internet, on a website, a blog, a social networking site and even an electronic discussion group will be there for ever.

Our personal data

Whenever we register on a social networking site or for an online service we need to enter our personal details. In some cases we think that we were given the options for keeping a minimum of privacy, e.g. if we were not asked to enter our physical address. Unfortunately this sense of privacy is just a feeling, since we may disclose our whereabouts the moment we enter our Zip code when customising a weather forecast widget associated to the platform.

The cross-referencing of data harvested online with public databases on e.g. the electorate or telephone directories makes it easy to profile individuals.

Did you ever search for your name on www.zoominfo.com or www.123people.com ? Surprise, surprise you may find yourself profiled in quite some details.

Facial recognition is already in place on Facebook [Photo Tagger] and other sites. What does this mean? It means that the system is building up a database matching your name with your facial traits. The system therefore learns how to attach a name to a face by entries which are done by you and your unaware friends. One can disallow being tagged in an image, but this option is “on” by default and is hidden somewhere in the privacy settings.

Implications and unintended consequences

The implications may have varied impact depending on the use the information is put to.

Increasingly employers scan the web to verify personal histories of applicants. Large companies create positions for staff dedicated to monitor the buzz on the company and its products (sometime its bosses) on social networking site.

Insurance companies do the same to trace histories of addition like alcoholism or smoking “diligently” documented by member of social networks and their friends when posting images of lavish parties.

Children and early teens posting their preferences in terms of games, books, and other on their personal walls may open doors to adults harbouring evil intents.

Disclosing once whereabouts has also risks linked to the information cloud which surrounds internet users. PleaseRobMe is a site set up to warn people about sharing their whereabouts on social networking sites like FaceBook, Twitter, etc. The system reveals the location of empty homes based on what people post online.

Implications on sharing personal information online are far-reaching and only partially weighed at present, as database are building up huge amounts of data by the day. The fact that others do share should not induce us to “compete” in sharing, but to carefully reflecting on the unintended consequences this may have, especially in the long run.

When it comes to kids and young teenagers it is the role of the parents and the school teachers to guide them and call for caution, although in some cases this may take considerable time and effort in keeping up with the spinning evolution of technologies.

Author: Giacomo Rambaldi

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