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Are social network sites as safe as they claim. How private is our privacy?








Fifty-seven per cent of us think social network sites are private. Almost half of all New Zealanders now use online social networks - but most of us are hugely concerned about the information children are sharing on the internet.



A Privacy Commission survey issued today reveals nearly 45 per cent of Kiwis have online profiles - most on Facebook - which is up from 32 per cent last June and 14 per cent in August 2007.



But the rush to social networking coincides with greater concerns over online privacy, especially for children.



Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff told the Herald a surprising number of people - 57 per cent - believed social networking sites were mostly private spaces.



She said there was an illusion of privacy on sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Flickr, but personal details or pictures could be easily accessed by anyone.



A high percentage of social network users were children, and Ms Shroff encouraged vigilance in protecting them on the internet.



"The internet offers a huge amount in terms of entertainment, education and ability to communicate with others, but there are risks too," she said.







"When children are online they can and do give away a lot of information about themselves, without necessarily being aware of the consequences."



Ms Shroff cited cases of identity theft of children as young as 10 which resulted in online abuse on Facebook.



"[Children] can risk themselves and their families by revealing personal and intimate information, which enables harms such as identity crime, stalking, text bullying and invasion of privacy in various ways."



Last Thursday, 19-year-old Cody Rae Allen of Gisborne pleaded guilty to forgery and criminal harassment after setting up a Facebook page to harass a teenage girl who spurned him.



In a survey by the internet safety organisation Netsafe, 25 per cent of secondary school students said they had been aggressively sexually solicited online.



Children sharing personal details online was the greatest concern among people surveyed by the Privacy Commissioner's office - 88 per cent said they worried about the information their children revealed online.



Seventy-nine per cent were concerned about the security of personal information held by overseas businesses.



Netsafe operations manager Lee Chisholm said any personal information put online should be considered public and permanently accessible.

Ackowledgements: MSN -  NZ Herald

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