Facebook Isn’t Free

Get The Message Out To Kids- Facebook Isn’t Free.

Courtney Lambert would like to support the extensive work carried out by the Privacy Commission and the social networking data made available in its report, ‘Individual Privacy and Personal Information’.

The report, which reviews New Zealander’s attitudes toward use of their personal information by businesses and government agencies, was released yesterday by Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff

She says the Privacy Commission has some challenging decisions to make but from a public safety and privacy perspective, the results were very positive for New Zealand businesses and government agencies.

“There has been a lot of scare-mongering around social media websites, especially their use by children. Collecting accurate data so that people can come up with practical strategies to protect at risk groups such as children is the best way forward.

People need to understand that social media websites are not ‘free’. Users are engaged in a transaction with the service providers to share their personal information for loyalty schemes and advertising.

I was surprised to see that 57% of respondents thought their information on social networking sites was private. It’s not that case-it’s not how the business model sitting behind sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube work. You get use of their online tools; you share your user data. “

The report also indicates that 78% of under 30 year olds using social networking sites, compared with 56% of 30-44 year olds.

“We aren’t talking about early-adopters anymore and can only expect usage to increase. I am pleased to see the Privacy Commissioner doing work in this area to ensure that new media tools are safe for all New Zealanders. “

ENDS

© Scoop Media