Social networking sites such as Facebook have made the personal information of minors more accessible online, according to a new study by the European Commission.
Marking Safer Internet Day, the commission today reminded teenagers to: “Think before you post”, adding that 50 per cent of European teenagers give out private data on the web, which can remain online forever and can be seen by anybody.
Following last year’s Safer Internet Day, 20 companies including Bebo, Facebook and Youtube, signed the Safer Social Networking, However, a report out today shows that not all the companies implemented the agreement and more work needs to be done to protect children online.
Only one third of social networking sites replied to user reports asking for help, according to the EU study.
Furthermore, just 40 per cent of social networking sites assessed made minors’ personal information visible only by their friends by default including Facebook, Flickr, Yahoo Answers, and MySpace.
“If we want children to think before they post, social networking companies should post the right information using the right language,” EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding said.
“Minors’ profiles need to be set to private by default and questions or abuse reports have to receive quick and appropriate responses. The internet is now vital to our children, and it is the responsibility of all to make it safe,” she added.