Brussels, 21/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - According to a report published on 21 June by the European Commission, social networking sites do not protect the profile of their non-adult users enough. Only two social networking sites (Bebo and MySpace) out of 14 ensured that minors can be contacted by friends only (Bebo, MySpace, Netlog and SchuelerVZ). The Commission is not entirely satisfied. Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, said: “I am disappointed…This is not only to protect minors from unwanted contacts but also to protect their online reputation.”
However, improvements have been made compared to the first assessment made last year. The majority of the 14 sites tested (Arto, Bebo, Facebook, Giovani.it, Hyves, Myspace, Nasza-klaza.pl, Netlog, One.it, Rate.ee, SchülerVZ, IRC Galleria, Tuenti and Zap.lu) do now give minors age-appropriate safety information, respond to requests for help and prevent minors' profiles from being searched via external search engines.
The report examines implementation of the “Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU”. These principles were adopted by 21 companies following an agreement brokered in 2009 with the Commission for guaranteeing online security for children. They form part of the objective set by the Digital Agenda for Europe to enhance trust in the internet, particularly with regard to the protection of minors online. The number of minors using social networking sites in the EU is growing - currently 77% of 13-16 year olds and 38% of 9-12 year olds who use the internet. According to Kroes, protection measures are insufficient and this is why she is strongly recommending that they “make a clear commitment to remedy this” in a revised version of the self-regulatory framework that the Commission is currently discussing. Youngsters do not fully understand the consequences of disclosing too much of their personal lives online, explained the commissioner. The possibility of tagging people in pictures makes it very easy to search for a person's photos online. Teenagers may face other risks online such as grooming and cyber-bullying. Education and parental guidance is therefore fundamental but additional protection must be provided by the social networking sites, explains the Commission. (ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/social_networking/eu_action/implementation_princip_2011/
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