[kictanet] Facebook information should be regulated, survey says

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Facebook information should be regulated, survey says

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/05/privacy.socialnetworking

· Nine out of 10 say rules should govern social sites
· Press watchdog could expand internet remit

    * Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent
    * The Guardian,
    * Thursday June 5 2008
    * Article history

Nine out of 10 people think there should be tighter regulation of 
information on social networking websites, according to new research.

A survey found that most Britons believe sites such as Facebook and 
MySpace should be covered by rules that would help ordinary people 
complain about intrusive material posted online.

Currently each of the major social networking sites operates under its 
own set of terms and conditions. However, 89% of those surveyed by the 
Press Complaints Commission said there should be a set of widely 
accepted rules to help prevent personal information - such as private 
photographs - being abused.

Sir Christopher Meyer, the chairman of the PCC, said there was an 
"unprecedented scale" of information being put on to social networks, 
and suggested members of the public needed help to deal with problems 
that arise as a result. "There is a need for public awareness about what 
can happen to information once it is voluntarily put into the public 
domain," he said.

Although just 8% of those surveyed said they had been embarrassed by 
information about them published on a social network, many more were 
more concerned about the implications: 78% said they would change the 
information they put online if they thought it would be reproduced by 
mainstream media.

The potential for abuse of private information online has become an 
increasing concern, not only among those worried about criminal 
activity, but also because such data is increasingly used by the media. 
Last year, in the wake of the Virginia Tech shooting spree which left 33 
dead, a number of media organisations were criticised for "digital 
doorstepping" of victims and their families using Facebook.

Spokesmen for the major social networks did not respond to requests for 
comment yesterday, but in the past they have rejected the idea that they 
should police their sites beyond the boundaries already covered by the law.

The survey comes as the PCC seeks to expand its role as the lines 
between different forms of media continue to blur. The organisation 
already oversees internet and video content produced by newspaper 
organisations, though the commission's director, Tim Toulmin, has stated 
that he is not in favour of internet regulation.

Suggestions that the PCC would be the best body to oversee a social 
networking code of conduct are likely to cause controversy, particularly 
since it has been accused of caving in to the interests of the newspaper 
industry. It recently came in for criticism for retaining Daily Express 
editor Peter Hill as a board member, despite his newspaper being forced 
to pay £560,000 to the family of Madeleine McCann over a series of false 
allegations. Hill finally left the commission in May.

Some experts suggested it would prove beneficial to bring some form of 
light self-regulation to the internet, but questioned whether there was 
a real consensus on what "intrusive" really meant. "If you take pictures 
and put them on Facebook, you've deliberately surrendered your privacy," 
said Charlie Beckett, the director of Polis, a journalism thinktank at 
the London School of Economics.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos Mori, was compiled from the answers of 
1,000 British people aged 16 to 64.
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This article appeared in the Guardian on Thursday June 05 2008 on p11 of 
the UK news section. It was last updated at 07:27 on June 05 2008.