“Social networks are great fun, and can be advantageous but people really need to

understand that it’s complicated world and you need to step wisely,” Cluley says.

Privacy is something we all value, but some value it more than others. Is Social Media a Serious
Threat to Your Privacy – Infographic Social media has taken previously private conversations
from offline to online.

Research shows that nearly two thirds of us don’t trust online companies like Facebook.
Facebook has constantly tweaked its complex security settings over the years and despite
protests and public outcry it seems that the situation has not improved. Studies show that 68% of
Facebook users do not understand the social network’s privacy settings.

The massive influx of personal information that has become available online and stored in the
cloud has put user privacy at the forefront of discussion of the databases ability to safely store
such personal information. The extent to which users and social media platform administrators
can access user profiles has become a new topic of ethical consideration and the legality,
awareness and boundaries of subsequent privacy violations are critical concerns in the advance
of the technological age.

Social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or
organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors.

History

Prior to the social networking site explosion over the past decade, there were early forms of
social network technologies that included online multiplayer games, blog sites, news groups,
mailings lists and dating services. These all created a backbone for the new modern sites, and
even from the start of these older versions privacy was an issue.

Conclusion
Social networks are a great way to express oneself and share with others. They help users lift the
barriers of space and time and communicate with the whole world. However, there is another
side associated with the proven dangers of user privacy violation.These dangers are even more of
a threat now thanks to the increasingly widespread trend of registering on several sites using a
single user account. In response to this situation, each Internet user must remain vigilant and
governments must put more pressure on the operators of these sites in order to safeguard the
security of Internet users.

Social networks indeed rest on users’ lack of perceived value in their data. As long as that
situation remains, and as long as advertisers do value that data, the business model of social
media will continue to have some foundation in reality. Were users to discover the value of
privacy, the situation could change drastically—but given events ranging from unconsenting
psychological studies to Edward Snowden, it seems little could give Millennials (or anyone else)
cause for such a shift. Millennials in particular seem to lack the foundation and consistency to act
on any widespread belief in the value of privacy, so social-media companies probably have little
to fear. That doesn’t mean, however, that Facebook and its hangers-on will face no business
challenges, but privacy concerns probably won’t be at the top of the list.

How to Protect Yourself?

Privacy protection on the Internet in general and on social networks in particular is becoming
increasingly necessary. Vigilance continues to spearhead the security and, thus, the privacy of
the information. It can be broken down into a few techniques that are simple but could make all
the difference:

 Choice of “friends” and contacts—Users should be extremely careful in their choice of

friends on these networks. It is common practice to accept contact from friends of friends,
who are frequently complete strangers. This can lead to one’s private life being exposed
to potentially harmful individuals.

 Restricting private content to close friends and family only—Social networking sites
are increasingly allowing their users to configure restrictions on access to their
information. It is, therefore, important to use these restrictions and to ensure that they are
properly configured, given that our information is public by default.

 Careful choice of information to be broadcast—The key to the protection of privacy is

in fact what information one broadcasts. Name, surname, date of birth, place of birth,
 photos, videos, comments and opinions should be carefully screened prior to being
posted. Keep in mind that information posted on a network may one day be used against
its author.

 Awareness—Every sector of the population should be made aware of the need to protect
themselves against the risk that the use of social networks may entail. In the business
world, this awareness must form part of the IT security program.

5 Threats To Your Security When Using Social Media

Social networking has changed the way we interact with friends and associates. While social
networks, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, FourSquare, and Google+, play a significant role in
our lives, they are also a high risk for security threats.

With hundreds of millions of users online, these tools not only attract friends and family wanting
to stay in touch, but they also attract people wanting to know about you for the wrong reasons.
Be aware of the top five security threats currently out there to help you stay safe online.

1. Having Your Identity Stolen

Identity thieves gather personal information from social media sites. Even if you have your
account on the highest security settings, there are still ways for an identity thief to get your
information. Most social network sites have information that is required, such as email address or
birthday. It’s common for an identity thief to hack an email account by using social information.
For example, a common technique to get personal information is by clicking on “forgot
password” and trying to recover the information through email. Once the thief has access to your
email account, they then have access to all information on your social networking sites.

So what can you do to protect yourself? You don’t have to delete all your social profiles or hide
from the real world; just take these precautions.

 Have a strong password. The stronger your password, the harder it is to guess. Use
special characters like symbols and capital letters when creating your password. Also,
don’t use “common” passwords, like your birthday or your child’s name.
  Be careful with your status updates. Often, we innocently post status updates that
would give an identity thief information they need to steal our identity. For example, you
may post “Happy birthday to my mother!” and then tag her in the post. Likely, your
mother’s maiden name will be associated with that tag now. A popular security question
is “What is your mother’s maiden name?” and if you share that online, you run the risks
of identity thieves getting the answer to this commonly used question.

 Don’t reveal your location. You can use a fake location or make one up from another
city and state. You may even be able to leave this information blank. Be cautious and
never use a city and state where you live.

2. Getting Your Computer Or Social Profile Hacked

Hackers love social networking, going right to the source to interject malicious code. The
codes hackers use can steal your identity, inject viruses to your computer, and obstruct bank
account information, to name a few. Shortened URLs, such as those created on bit.ly, are
especially susceptible to hackers. Shortened URLs can trick users into visiting harmful sites
where personal information can be compromised because the full URL is not seen.

The best advice is to never click on a link until you are sure of the source. To tell if a link is safe,
you can:

 Hover over the link. If you hover over a link without clicking, you’ll see the full URL in
the lower corner of your browser. If this is a website you recognize, go ahead and click.

 Try a link scanner. A link scanner is a website that lets you enter the URL of a link you
suspect might be suspicious to check for safety. Try URLVoid or MyWOT as possible
options.

 Check shortened links. A shortened link is popular on sites like Twitter where character
length matters. Some shortened link sites include bit.ly, Ow.ly, and TinyURL. Use a
service like Sucuri to determine if the real link is secure.

3. Inadvertently Letting Stalkers Find You

When you use social networking sites, you are posting personal information. Once information is
posted online, it’s no longer private and can fall into the wrong hands. The more you post, the
more vulnerable you become to those who may wish to harm you. Even with the highest security
settings, friends, associates, and even the brands you “like” on your networking sites, can
inadvertently leak information about you. The websites you subscribe to, the apps you download,
and the games you play on social networking sites all contain personal information about you.
Every time you browse a website, companies can put invisible markers on your computer called
cookies. In theory, no two cookies are alike. When you are online, these cookies track your
activity as you move from site to site.

To keep sites from tracking your activity, click on the “Do Not Track” feature. Most websites
have an option for you to opt out of tracking. You can also clear the cache and cookies on your
browser regularly to help prevent any problems.

4. Letting Burglars Know Your Whereabouts

Telling the online world where you’re going and when you aren’t at home is inviting burglars to
your house. Did you know that a run-of-the-mill burglar can break into your home in less than
60 seconds and spend less than 10 minutesstealing your possessions? By telling the world you
are on vacation in Europe, you’re letting potential thieves know where you are, how long you’ll
be gone, and where you live. Burglars are fond of constant updates, especially about your travel
plans. You wouldn’t stand up in the middle of a crowd and announce you’re going on vacation
for a week, would you? Of course not, but that’s what you do when you post your vacation
pictures and plans online.

When you go on vacation:

 Avoid posting specific travel plans. Never post when, where, or how long you’ll be gone.

 Wait until you are home to post pictures to a vacation album.

 Use highest privacy control. Only let certain groups, like a family group, view your
photos.

 Be selective with the status updates. You can use an audience-selector dropdown menu
on Facebook to choose certain groups to see your status updates.

 Stay offline. You’re on vacation, after all. Relax and forget about the online world for a
few days.

5. Becoming Overconfident
One of the biggest threats to online security is overconfidence. Whether at home or at work,
many users believe as long as they have a firewall and an antivirus installed, there is no threat to
security. Many people also believe that they don’t have anything worth hacking so there’s no
need to worry about security. With today’s technology, we are more connected to each other than
ever before. When you neglect security, you not only put yourself at risk, but others are at risk as
well.

To keep yourself and your information safe, pay careful attention to your online activity. Avoid
posting information including:

 Travel plans (see point 4)

 Bank account information

 Your full address and birthdate

 Your children’s’ names, school, and birthdates

 Location information, such as the name of your work place

 Your daily schedule

Social networking has drastically changed the way people interact with their friends, associates
and family members. Although social networks, like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube,
Snapchat and FourSquare, play a major role in our day to day lives, I have also come to discover
that they could also pose serious privacy risks. When using these social media sites, it’s quite
important to know and understand the privacy risks involved. I recently had an encounter
withPhilip Scala, a private investigator based in New York. Below are some of the things I
learned from him on the privacy risks that comes with the use of social media.

Privacy Risks on Social Media

Nowadays, hackers prowl the social media networks looking for victims. They tend to use the
shortened URLs like those which are created with bit.ly. They use these shortened URLs to trick
their victims into visiting harmful sites or to inject viruses into their computers or mobile phones.
Hackers also use spyware which they can easily install on your mobile phone, laptop, iPad
or/and computer remotely via downloads, emails, shortened URLs or instant messages. The
spyware gives the hacker information about the passwords you use on your social media
networks and other accounts which you access online. The simplest way to avoid being a victim,
is to never click on links unless you’re sure of the actual source.

Most of the social media sites have information that’s required, like your birthday and email
address. Identity thieves tend to gather their victims’ personal information from the information
available on the social media sites. Many identity thieves tend to hack their victims email
accounts by simply using the personal information available on social media profile. For
instance, one of the more common techniques used by identity thieves, is clicking on the “forgot
password,” and then trying to recover the password via email. Once they access your email
account, they basically have access to all of your personal information.

Social media sites utilize mobile apps and the location based services to allow users to check in
at their current locations. This normally reveals the user’s current location to all of the people
they are connected with in their particular social media networks. The information posted can be
easily used by malicious people to track your whereabouts. Moreover, telling the online
community where you are, or where you are going to, can end up inviting burglars and thieves to
your home or business. For instance, by posting your current location and saying that you are on
a long vacation in Australia, you will be letting the potential burglars or/and thieves know
exactly where you are, and how long you will be gone. To mitigate such risks, you should avoid
posting your travel plans, and using the location based services.

Tips For Protecting Your Privacy On Social Media

Create strong passwords; the stronger your passwords are, the harder it will be to guess. You can
include special characters such as symbols, numbers, and capital letters in your password. Also,
do not use some common passwords, like your child’s name, wife’s name or birthday.

Review your social media profiles and pay close attention to the way each profile lets you protect
sensitive personal details. Some social media sites like Facebook gives you the opportunity of
restricting access to certain friends, family members and colleagues. Also take advantage of the
enhanced privacy options which are offered by social media sites like blocking the messages
from strangers. For most people, their setting is set in a way that their Facebook likes are easily
visible to anyone. There are strategies that can be employed to stop people from snooping on you
on Facebook.
Install a good antivirus and anti-spyware; it’s essential you’ve a software that will protect you
from malware, viruses, and spyware. Get the latest antivirus and anti-spyware software and make
sure you have it regularly updated with all the latest malware definitions. For extra security, you
can update all of the critical applications, including the operating system, your internet browsers,
and such other programs which are prone to attacks.

When you use social media, you are basically posting personal information online. When that
information gets posted online, it is no longer private, and may end up falling into wrong hands.
Even if you have put in place the highest possible security measures, some of your friends,
colleagues and companies you interact with on social media, can end up leaking your personal
information. Therefore, you need to be very careful about what you post online, else, you will
end up giving the would-be burglars, stalkers, cyber bullies and identity thieves the information
they require to cause harm.

Introduction

’If you feel like someone is watching you, you're right. If you're worried about this, you have
plenty of company. If you're not doing anything about this anxiety, you’re just like almost
everyone else.’ (Bob Sullivan, 2011)
Many people increasingly utilize social Networks, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Orkut,
Linked in and etc. These networks allow users to publish details about themselves and their lives
and also connect to their friends and colleagues. However some of the information revealed in
these networks should remain private and not published at all. Companies that operate social
networks are actually themselves collecting a range of data about their users (FB, Google,
Twitter, MySpace etc.), both to personalize the services for the users, but more relevant in terms
of privacy issues to sell this data to advertisers. [8]
Users publishing Detailed personal information and information about their preferences and
daily life is a great opportunity for marketers, now, knowing all peoples likings and disliking’s to
better target them with their marketing messages.
The availability of personal information online is also an opportunity for identity thieves, scam
artists, debt collectors and, stalkers to use the information that people themselves have
voluntarily provided in a ways harmful for the owner of the information.
Social networking sites vary greatly in the levels of privacy offered and required. With the
mushrooming and unfrequented popularity of these network sites such as Facebook, MySpace,
Twitter, Google+, Rate, Orkut and more undesirable security and privacy risk issues have
emerged [3]. For instance Facebook, currently the king of the social network sites, encourages its
users to use their real names and upload personal information on their profile page. Facebook
profile includes birthday’s, addresses’, telephone numbers and more intimate details such as
interests, hobbies, relationship status and sexual preference. After one posting all that on his/hers
profile page, one can imagine how thin his/hers privacy actually becomes. Another good
illustrative example of how one cannot take back what information has been revealed about
oneself, first internet rule: go and Google yourself you can find at least two pages of details
about who you are, what are your hobbies and what are you or have been involved with.
This paper will examine the different types of social network sites and provides insight into
privacy issues in social networking services, on social media sharing services and in location
based networking. The paper also discusses about the role of convergence in the light of emerged
privacy issues.

Types of social network sites

The increasing sophistication of information technology with its capacity to collect, analyse and
disseminate information is posing significant threats to social networks users privacy. It is now
common wisdom that the power, capacity and speed of information technology are accelerating
rapidly. The extent of privacy invasion or certainly the potential to invade privacy increases
correspondingly. [1]
Ambient location sites, Photo sharing sites, video sharing sites, geolocation networks, blogs,
microblogs, curation sites- trying to understand the essence and characteristics all of these
different types of social network sites can feel like trying to understand or explain rocket science.
Many social networks can be broken up into many categories and most networks fall into more
than one category [6]. The present paper is outlining the 3 most daily used social networking
sites giving examples and characteristics in order to understand the spectrum of the issue with
social network privacy.

Every minute of the day:

• 100,000 tweets are sent

• 684,478 pieces of content are shared on Facebook
• 2 million search queries are made on Google
• 48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube
• 47,000 apps are downloaded from the App Store
• 3,600 photos are shared on Instagram
• 571 websites are created
• $272,000 is spent by consumers online (source: AllTwitter)
(Source: thesocialskinny.com)

1. Social Networking Sites

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, MySpace

Micro- blogging is similar to blogs, it is a micro journal of what is happening right now, people
share what is going on in their individual life or information individual wants to share. [7].
In general terms these sites allow users to add friends, send messages and share content.

2. Social Media Sharing Sites

Photo sharing Instagram, Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa and video sharing Youtube, Vimeo,
iMemories, audio sharing SoundCloud, MySpace and etc.

These social networking sites allow users to easily share video and photography content online.
Photo sharing sites allow people to upload photos to share either privately with only selected
other users or publicly. Creative commons licensing rights can grant permissions for others to
use the photos by simply embedding the codes in their blogs [7]. Video Sharing sites are similar
to photo sharing; users upload video content to a site for sharing either privately or public.

3. Location Based Networks

Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt

Typically entered via smart phones, these applications rather than social networking sites feature
check- in capabilities so that users can, if they choose, share their location with their social
connections.

Video and photo sharing services can pose a great threat especially for teenagers and youngsters,
due to their vulnerability. Although This topic a very important and sensitive issue which
requires more in-depth discussion, the purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss the privacy
concerns regarding social sharing networks and therefore the issue in this paper is not discussed
as in depth as the topic in reality would require. However it is important to mention that there has
been a number of cases when youngsters have been harassed by paedophiles online and these
cases have also led to suicide An example for this could be Amanda Todd’s case, a 15 years old
teenager who committed a suicide due to a bully who posted a picture of his boobs which was
taken a year ago and not even voluntarily but after being urged to “flash”.

Potential dangers[edit]

Identity theft[edit]

As there is so much information provided other things can be deduced, such as the
person's social security number, which can then be used as part of identity theft.[30]In 2009,
researchers at Carnegie Mellon University published a study showing that it is possible to predict
most and sometimes all of an individual's 9-digit Social Security number using information
gleaned from social networks and online databases. (See Predicting Social Security Numbers
from Public Data by Acquisti and Gross).[31] In response, various groups have advised that users
either do not display their number, or hide it from Facebook 'friends' they do not personally
know.[32]Cases have also appeared of users having photographs stolen from social networking
sites in order to assist in identity theft.[33] There is little evidence that users of social networking
sites are taking full measures to protect themselves from identity theft. For example, numerous
celebrities have claimed their Twitter accounts have been hacked.[34] According to the
Huffington Post, Bulgarian IT consultant Bogomil Shopov claimed in a recent blog to have
purchased personal information on more than 1 million Facebook users, for the shockingly low
price of USD$5.00. The data reportedly included users' full names, email addresses, and links to
their Facebook pages.[35] The following information could be used to steal the users' identities :
Full names including middle name, date of birth, hometown, relationship status, residential
information, other hobbies and interest.

Preteens and early teenagers[edit]

Among all other age groups, in general, the most vulnerable victims of private-information-
sharing behavior are preteens and early teenagers. There have been age restrictions put on
numerous websites but how effective they are is debatable.[need quotation to verify] Findings have
unveiled that informative opportunities regarding internet privacy as well as concerns from
parents, teachers, and peers, play a significant role in impacting the internet user's behavior in
regards to online privacy.[36][37]Additionally, other studies have also found that the heightening of
adolescents' concern towards their privacy will also lead to a greater probability that they will
utilize privacy-protecting behaviors.[38] In the technological culture that society is developing
into, not only should adolescents' and parent's awareness be risen, but society as a whole should
acknowledge the importance of online privacy.[citation needed]

Preteens and early teenagers are particularly susceptible to social pressures that encourage young
people to reveal personal data when posting online. Teens often post information about their
personal life, such as activities they are doing, sharing their current locations, who they spend
time with, as well their thoughts and opinions. They tend to share this information because they
do not want to feel left out or judged by other adolescents who are practicing these sharing
activities already. Teens are motivated to keep themselves up to date with the latest gossip,
current trends, and trending news and, in doing so they are allowing themselves to become
victims of cyberbullying, stalking, and in the future, could potentially harm them when pursuing
job opportunities, and in the context of privacy, become more inclined to share their private
information to the public. This is concerning because preteens and teenagers are the least
educated on how public social media is, how to protect themselves online, and the detrimental
consequences that could come from sharing too much personal information online. As more and
more young individuals are joining social media sites, they believe it is acceptable to post
whatever they are thinking, as they don't realize the potential harm that information can do to
them and how they are sacrificing their own privacy.[39] "Teens are sharing more information
about themselves on social media sites than they did in the past."[40] Preteens and teenagers are
sharing information on social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter,
Pinterest, and more by posting pictures and videos of themselves unaware of the privacy they are
sacrificing.[41] Adolescents post their real name, birthdays, and email addresses to their social
media profiles.[41] Children have less mobility than they have had in the past. Everything these
teenagers do online is so they can stay in the loop of social opportunities, and the concern with
this is that they do this in a way that is not only traceable but in a very persistent environment
that motivates people to continue sharing information about themselves as well.[41]

California is also taking steps to protect the privacy of some social media users from users’ own
judgments. In 2013, California enacted a law that would require social media sites to allow
young registered users to erase their own comments from sites.[42] This is a first step in the
United States toward the “right to be forgotten” that has been debated around the world over the
past decade.[43]
Sexual predators[edit]

Most major social networking sites are committed to ensuring that use of their services are as
safe as possible. However, due to the high content of personal information placed on social
networking sites, as well as the ability to hide behind a pseudo-identity, such sites have become
increasingly popular for sexual predators [online].[44] Further, lack of age verification
mechanisms is a cause of concern in these social networking platforms.[45] However, it was also
suggested that the majority of these simply transferred to using the services provided by
Facebook.[46] While the numbers may remain small, it has been noted that the number of sexual
predators caught using social networking sites has been increasing, and has now reached an
almost weekly basis.[47] In worst cases children have become victims of pedophiles or lured to
meet strangers.They say that sexual predators can lurk anonymously through the wormholes of
cyberspace and access victim profiles online.[48] A number of highly publicized cases have
demonstrated the threat posed for users, such as Peter Chapman who, under a false name, added
over 3,000 friends and went on to rape and murder a 17-year-old girl in 2009.[49] In another case,
a 12-year-old, Evergreen girl was safely found by the FBI with the help of Facebook, due to her
mother learning of her daughter's conversation with a man she had met on the popular social
networking application.

Stalking[edit]

See also: Cyberstalking

The potential ability for stalking users on social networking sites has been noted and shared.
Popular social networking sites make it easy to build a web of friends and acquaintances and
share with them your photos, whereabouts, contact information, and interests without ever
getting the chance to actually meet them. With the amount of information that users post about
themselves online, it is easy for users to become a victim of stalking without even being aware of
the risk. 63% of Facebook profiles are visible to the public, meaning if you Google someone's
name and you add "+Facebook" in the search bar you pretty much will see most of the person
profile.[50] A study of Facebook profiles from students at Carnegie Mellon University revealed
that about 800 profiles included current resident and at least two classes being studied,
theoretically allowing viewers to know the precise location of individuals at specific
times.[30] AOL attracted controversy over its instant messenger AIM which permits users to add
'buddies' without their knowing, and therefore track when a user is online.[30] Concerns have also
been raised over the relative ease for people to read private messages or e-mails on social
networking sites.[51] Cyberstalking is a criminal offense that comes into play under state anti-
stalking laws, slander laws, and harassment laws. A cyberstalking conviction can result in a
restraining order, probation, or even criminal penalties against the assailant, including jail.[50]

Some applications are explicitly centered on "cyber stalking." An application named "Creepy"
can track a person's location on a map using photos uploaded to Twitter or Flickr. When a person
uploads photos to a social networking site, others are able to track their most recent location.
Some smartphones are able to embed the longitude and latitude coordinates into the photo and
automatically send this information to the application. Anybody using the application can search
for a specific person and then find their immediate location. This poses many potential threats to
users who share their information with a large group of followers.[52]

Facebook "Places," is a Facebook service, which publicizes user location information to the
networking community. Users are allowed to "check-in" at various locations including retail
stores, convenience stores, and restaurants. Also, users are able to create their own "place,"
disclosing personal information onto the Internet. This form of location tracking is automated
and must be turned off manually. Various settings must be turned off and manipulated in order
for the user to ensure privacy. According to epic.org, Facebook users are recommended to: (1)
disable "Friends can check me in to Places," (2) customize "Places I Check In," (3) disable
"People Here Now," and (4) uncheck "Places I've Visited.".[53] Moreover, the Federal Trade
Commission has received two complaints in regards to Facebook's "unfair and deceptive" trade
practices, which are used to target advertising sectors of the online community. "Places" tracks
user location information and is used primarily for advertising purposes. Each location tracked
allows third party advertisers to customize advertisements that suit one's interests. Currently, the
Federal Trade Commissioner along with the Electronic Privacy Information Center are shedding
light on the issues of location data tracking on social networking sites.[53]

Unintentional fame[edit]

Unintentional fame can harm a person’s character, reputation, relationships, chance of

employment, and privacy- ultimately infringing upon a person’s right to the pursuit of happiness.
Many cases of unintentional fame have led its victims to take legal action. The right to be
forgotten is a legal concept that includes removing one’s information from the media that was
once available to the public.[54] The right to be forgotten is currently enforced in the European
Union and Argentina, and has been recognized in various cases in the United States, particularly
in the case of Melvin v. Reid.[54] However, there is controversy surrounding the right to be
forgotten in the United States as it conflicts with the public's right to know and the Constitution’s
First Amendment, restricting one’s “right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression”
(Amendment I).[55]

Privacy concerns have also been raised over a number of high-profile incidents which can be
considered embarrassing for users. Various internet memes have been started on social
networking sites or been used as a means towards their spread across the internet. In 2002, a
Canadian teenager became known as the Star Wars Kid after a video of him using a golf club as
a light sabre was posted on the internet without his consent. The video quickly became a hit,
much to the embarrassment of the teenager, who claims to have suffered as a result.[56] Along
with other incidents of videos being posted on social networking sites, this highlights the ability
for personal information to be rapidly transferred between users.

Employment[edit]

Issues relating to privacy and employment are becoming a concern with regards to social
networking sites. As of 2008, it has been estimated by CareerBuilder.com that one in five
employers search social networking sites in order to screen potential candidates (increasing from
only 11% in 2006).[57] For the majority of employers, such action is to acquire negative
information about candidates. For example, 41% of managers considered information relating to
candidates' alcohol and drug use to be a top concern.[57] Other concerns investigated via social
networking sites included poor communication skills, inappropriate photographs, inaccurate
qualifications and bad-mouthing former employers/colleagues.[57] However, 24% manager
claimed that information found on a social networking site persuaded them to hire a candidate,
suggesting that a user image can be used in a positive way.

While there is little doubt that employers will continue to use social networking sites as a means
of monitoring staff and screening potential candidates, it has been noted that such actions may be
illegal under in jurisdictions. According to Workforce.com, employers who use Facebook or
Myspace could potentially face legal action:

If a potential employer uses a social networking site to check out a job candidate and then rejects
that person based on what they see, he or she could be charged with discrimination.[58] On
August 1, 2012, Illinois joined the state of Maryland (law passed in March 2012) in prohibiting
employer access to social media web sites of their employees and prospective employees. A
number of other states that are also considering such prohibitory legislation (California,
Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South
Carolina and Washington), as is the United States Congress. In April 2012, the Social
Networking Online Protection Act (2012 H.R. 5050) was introduced in the United States House
of Representatives, and the Password Protection Act of 2012 (2012 S. 3074) was introduced in
the United States Senate in May 2012, which prohibit employers from requiring access to their
employees' social media web sites.[59]

With the recent concerns about new technologies, the United States is now developing laws and
regulations to protect certain aspects of people’s information on different medias.[CR4] For
example, 12 states in the US currently have laws specifically restricting employers from
demanding access to their employees’ social media sites when those sites are not fully
public.[60] (The states that have passed these laws are Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois,
Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.)[61]

Monitoring of social networking sites is not limited to potential workers. Issues relating to
privacy are becoming an increasing concern for those currently in employment. A number of
high-profile cases have appeared in which individuals have been sacked for posting comments
on social networking which have been considered disparaging to their current employers or
fellow workers. In 2009, sixteen-year-old Kimberley Swann was sacked from her position at
Ivell Marketing and Logistics Limited after describing her job as 'boring'.[62] In 2008, Virgin
Atlantic sacked thirteen cabin crew staff, after it emerged they used had criticized the company's
safety standards and called passengers 'chavs' on Facebook.[63] There is no federal law that we
are aware of that an employer is breaking by monitoring employees on social networking sites.
In fact, employers can even hire third-party companies to monitor online employee activity for
them. According to an article by Read Write Web employers use the service to "make sure that
employees don't leak sensitive information on social networks or engage in any behavior that
could damage a company's reputation."[31] While employers may have found such usages of
social networking sites convenient, complaints have been put forward by civil liberties groups
and trade unions on the invasive approach adopted by many employers. In response to the
Kimberley Swann case, Brendan Barber, of the TUC union stated that:

Most employers wouldn't dream of following their staff down the pub to see if they were
sounding off about work to their friends," he said. "Just because snooping on personal
conversations is possible these days, it doesn't make it healthy."
Monitoring of staff's social networking activities is also becoming an increasingly common
method of ensuring that employees are not browsing websites during work hours. It was
estimated in 2010 that an average of two million employees spent over an hour a day on social
networking sites, costing potentially £14 billion.[64]

Online victimization[edit]

Social networks are designed for individuals to socially interact with other people over the
Internet. However, some individuals engaged in undesirable online social behaviors creating
negative impacts on other people's online experiences. It has created a wide range of online
interpersonal victimization. Some studies have shown that social network victimization appears
largely in adolescent and teens, and the type of victimization includes sexual advances and
harassment.[65] Recent research has reported approximately 9% of online victimization involves
social network activities.[65] It has been noted that many of these victims are girls who have
sexually appealed over these social network sites.[65] Research concludes that many of social
network victimizations are associated with user behaviors and interaction with one another.
Negative social behaviors such as aggressive attitudes and discussing sexual related topics
motivate the offenders to achieve their goals.[65] All in all, positive online social behaviors is
promoted to help reduce and avoid online victimization.

Surveillance[edit]

While the concept of a worldwide communicative network seems to adhere to the public sphere
model, market forces control access to such a resource. In 2010 investigation by The Wall Street
Journal found that many of the most popular applications on Facebook were transmitting
identifying information about users and their friends to advertisers and internet tracking
companies, which is a violation of Facebook's privacy policy.[66] The Wall Street Journal
analyzed the ten most popular Facebook apps, including Zynga's FarmVille, with 57 million
users, and Zynga's Mafia Wars with 21.9 million users, and found that they were transmitting
Facebook user IDs to data aggregators.[66] Every online move leaves cyber footprints that are
rapidly becoming fodder for research without you ever realizing it. Using social media for
academic research is accelerating and raising ethical concerns along the way, as vast amounts of
information collected by private companies — including Google, Microsoft, Facebook and
Twitter — are giving new insight into all aspects of everyday life. Our social media "audience" is
bigger than we actually know; our followers or friends aren't the only ones that can see
information about us. Social media sites are collecting data from us just by searching something
such as "favorite restaurant" on our search engine. Facebook is transformed from a public space
to a behavioral laboratory," says the study, which cites a Harvard-based research project of 1,700
college-based Facebook users in which it became possible to "deanonymize parts of the data set,"
or cross-reference anonymous data to make student identification possible.[67] Some of
Facebook's research on user behavior found that 71% of people drafted at least one post that they
never posted.[67] Another analyzed 400,000 posts and found that children's communication with
parents decreases in frequency from age 13 but then rises when they move out.[67]

Law enforcement prowling the networks[edit]

Main article: Use of social network websites in investigations

The FBI has dedicated undercover agents on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn. One
example of investigators using Facebook to nab a criminal is the case of Maxi Sopo. Charged
with bank fraud, and having escaped to Mexico, he was nowhere to be found until he started
posting on Facebook. Although his profile was private, his list of friends was not, and through
this vector, they eventually caught him.[68]

In recent years, some state and local law enforcement agencies have also begun to rely on social
media websites as resources. Although obtaining records of information not shared publicly by
or about site users often requires a subpoena, public pages on sites such as Facebook and
MySpace offer access to personal information that can be valuable to law enforcement.[69] Police
departments have reported using social media websites to assist in investigations, locate and
track suspects, and monitor gang activity.[70][71]

On October 18, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was scheduled to begin
using personal information collected using social media platforms to screen immigrants arriving
in the U.S. The department made this new measure known in a posting to the Federal Register in
September 2017, noting that “...social media handles, aliases, associated identifiable information
and search results...” would be included in an applicant’s immigration file.[72] This
announcement, which was made relatively quietly, has received criticism from privacy
advocates. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement in late September 2017
asserting that the planned use of social media is nothing new, with one department spokesperson
saying DHS has been using social media to collect information for years. According to a
statement made to National Public Radio, DHS uses “...social media handles, aliases, associated
identifiable information, and search results” to keep updated records on persons of
interest.[73] According to the DHS, the posting to the Federal Register was an effort to be
transparent regarding information about social media that is already being collected from
immigrants.

Mob rule[edit]

The idea of the 'mob rule' can be described as a situation in which control is held by those
outside the conventional or lawful realm. In response to the News International phone hacking
scandal involving News of the World in the United Kingdom, a report was written to enact new
media privacy regulations.

The British author of the Leveson Report on the ethics of the British press, Lord Justice Leveson,
has drawn attention to the need to take action on protecting privacy on the internet. This
movement is described by Lord Justice Leveson as a global megaphone for gossip: "There is not
only a danger of trial by Twitter, but also of an unending punishment, and no prospect of
rehabilitation, by Google".[74]

Location updates[edit]

Foursquare, Facebook, Loopt are application which allow users to check- in and these
capabilities allows a user to share their current location information to their connection. Some of
them even update their travel plans on social networking applications.However, the disclosure of
location information within these networks can cause privacy concerns among mobile users.
Foursquare defines another framework of action for the user. It appears to be in the interest of
Foursquare that users provide many personal data that are set as public. This is illustrated, among
others, by the fact that, although all the respondents want high control over the (location) privacy
settings, almost none of them ever checked the Foursquare privacy settings before.[75] Although
there are algorithms using encryption, k-anonymity and noise injection algorithms, its better to
understand how the location sharing works in these applications to see if they have good
algorithms in place to protect location privacy.[76]

Invasive privacy agreements[edit]

Another privacy issue with social networks is the privacy agreement. The privacy agreement
states that the social network owns all of the content that users upload. This includes pictures,
videos, and messages are all stored in the social networks database even if the user decides to
terminate his or her account.[77]
Privacy agreements oftentimes say that they can track a user's location and activity based on the
device used for the site. For example, the privacy agreement for Facebook states that "all devices
that a person uses to access Facebook are recorded such as IP addresses, phone numbers,
operating system and even GPS locations".[78] One main concern about privacy agreements are
the length, because they take a lot of time to fully read and understand. Most privacy agreements
state the most important information at the end because it is assumed that people will not read it
completely.

The ethical dilemma lies in that upon the agreement to register for SNSs, the personal
information disclosed is legally accessible and managed by the sites privately established online
security operators and operating systems; leaving access of user data to be "under the discretion"
of the site(s) operators. Giving rise to the moral obligation and responsibility of the sites
operators to maintain private information to be within user control. However, due to the legality
of outsourcing of user data upon registration- without prior discretion, data outsourcing has been
frequented by SNSs operating systems- regardless of user privacy settings.[79]

Data outsourcing has been proven to be consistently exploited since the emergence of SNSs.
Employers have often been found to hire individuals or companies to search deep into the SNSs
user database to find "less than pleasant" information regarding applicants during the review
process.[80]

One should keep in mind the following things-

# To prevent cyber stalking avoid disclosing any information pertaining to oneself. This is as
good as disclosing your identity to strangers in public place.
# Always avoid sending any photograph online particularly to strangers and chat friends as there
have been incidents of misuse of the photographs.
# Never send your credit card number to any site that is not secured, to guard against frauds.
# Always keep a watch on the sites that children are accessing to prevent any kind of harassment
or depravation in children.
# Web site owners should watch traffic and check any irregularity on the site. Putting host- based
intrusion detection devices on servers may do this.
# Use of firewalls may be beneficial.
# Web servers running public sites must be physically separate protected from internal corporate
network.
Merits of social networking sites

 Finding Good People: Social Networking sites like LinkedIn are a great resource for
business owners to find new talent or even partners for a new venture.

 Free Business Promotion: This is probably the biggest advantage for business owners
using social networking sites. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and many others are
great forums for you to talk about your business, your services and even exhibit your
industry expertise.

 Low Cost Advertising: Some social networking sites provide a business owner with the
opportunity to advertise to a very specific demographic for very little money. So you can
advertise to exactly the customer that you want to attract and save money versus other
forms of advertising.

 Application: Through social networking sites, we can get attention of huge number of
our target customers at a time, so it can be used to promote business, to advertise for our
business, to take taste of the customers that what changes they want. It can be used as a
platform to promote and advertise business.

 Build your credibility: By consistently interacting and posting a person can build trust
and credibility amongs their audience which in turn can lead to more business.

 Ease of Communication: Social networking sites allow you a fast and free resource for
communicating with your customers and potential customers. Announce sales,
promotions, special events and more by simply typing your message and posting it to
your page or profile.

Demerits of social networking sites

 Privacy: Nowadays, the social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are open
for anyone who wants to participate. On social networking sites users
express very powerful concerns about privacy of their personal information, but do
not care about safeguarding it. Although a lot of the information individuals’ supply
on social-networking sites is elective, users are progressively more comfortable with
displaying a great deal of personal information online. Therefore, one of the main
 concerns for users who register in these sites is privacy. So, the privacy is one of the
obstacles that have faced the use of social networking in education.

 Real friendship: Through social networking, person has a lot of friend but the quality
and integrity of these friendships is not always true. On the other hand, data on these
social-networking sites for a person is not always 100% honest and reliable, and they do
not verify personal details (age, location, etc.) of their members. While sites provide an
opportunity for individuals to present a positive and accurate self-image, there is an equal
potential to abuse this openness. So, having many friends through social networking sites
is likely to be more harmful than good.

 Time consumption: The amount of time spent by individuals with each other online has
risen to greater extent. This has effect on health of individuals, because spending a lot of
time browsing these social networks can affect the way the genes operate within the
human body, and weakens the immune and hormone levels. In addition, it is also has an
impact on mental health. Moreover, the use of social networking in the education can
cause lack of motivation towards learning and can be boring sitting in front of computer
for a long time.

Social network Boon or Ban

Favor (Boon)

Social networks are new way of communication for example Facebook, Myspace, Orkut and
many more.

Every one is sharing pictures, day to day activity, thoughts about issues, personal problems etc.
on social network.As well as people are communicating with each

other through social networking sites.Few people are exploiting social networking sites by
spying on others life. Few cases has been reported where robbers and

thieves were spying on victims through social networking sites.So one should take care of what
he/she is sharing on social network.Its own responsibility that to

not share anything personal which can create problems.

Public sharing of private lives has not led to a rethinking of anything. It's just reminded people to
use extreme caution when publicly sharing their private lives. If

you wouldn't do something in front of everyone you know, don't do it on the internet.

Internet is popular due to freedom of speech.Few groups are asking that social networking sites
should be banned.If governent would ban social networking sites

then internet will not be free. People will not share there lives or communicate with others and
internet will loose its charm.

Humans are social animals by nature and social networks are just one other outlet for humans to
interact. We should not look at social networks as threats but as

opportunities for us to interact with people globally. I myself am an active user of social
networks and have made many friends and business contacts online that I

would otherwise not have had the same level of opportunity or interaction.

Against (Ban)

Social networking sites are complete waste of time.Youth is wasting their precious time on these
social networking sites so these sites should be banned.

A guy who posted a video on YouTube weightlifting, skiing, and performing karate exhibitions.
He was fired from his job for showing to much Bravado.

There was one incident where robbers using user's geo location on Facebook to find out when
target is at home or not.

Unlike other human social interactions which are transient, e.g. talking to friends over lunch etc,
the Internet keeps a permanent record of what we say to each

other. If you are having an online conversation with your friend(s) then you should be aware that
conversation can be seen by countless others and that a record of

that conversation will be kept somewhere on the Internet. Indeed, now with some social
networks introducing geo location services a record of where we go and

how long we spend there will also be maintained.

Social-networking sites allow seemingly trivial gossip to be distributed to a worldwide audience,
sometimes making people the butt of rumors shared by millions of

users across the Internet.

Public sharing of private lives has led to a rethinking of our current conceptions of privacy.

Existing law should be extended to allow some privacy protection for things that people say and
do in what would have previously been considered the public

domain.

People need to be aware of the environment within which they are communicating to others. If
you are discussing things in a public forum then all that information

is available to everyone else in that forum. Therefore they should take a common sense approach
to what they should and should not discuss. In real world we

only talk about sensitive issues when we are in private and with people we trust. I think though
that when people are online they can fall into a false sense of

security because there are physically in a secure place using their computer either in their office
or their home which results in them divulging information they

should not.

Social Networking – Features

1. Social Network of people – Just as this term suggests, social networking is the social
network of people where every member can chat with other users of his/her own choice.
The worldwide network of people helps users connect in an easy, efficient and simple
way.

2. Sharing of Information between people – Be it the social networking sites or apps, the
major reason why they are used is the sharing of information! Be it the exam info,
friend’s info, political info or any other type of information, it can be shared with
numerous people in moments through social networking. Social network users can also
share images, files and content with each other.
3. Online Platform for people who Share Similar Interests – Another important feature
of social networking is that it provides a platform to users where they can find people
who have similar interests. The simple User Interface (UI) makes it much easier to make
friends, share and collect information.

4. Electronic Communication – Social networking is a process of electronic

communication where you can communicate with other users with the help of messages,
tweets, chat or emails. For example, a piece of info can be shared via clicking the share,
tag or email button provided on many social networking sites.

5. Submitting & Sharing Links – Another feature which makes social networking highly
popular is the privilege of allowing users to submit and share links of their choice. Apart
from the general interaction, this link strategy is vastly used by many marketers, sellers
and businessmen.

6. Social Communication – Social networking sites are actually platforms for mass
communication. This is why so many politicians worldwide are active on social sites
today!

7. Opinion through Content &Voting, Call-to-Action – Social networking helps you

express and opine with the help of easy options like ‘voting’, ‘like’, ‘dislike’, etc. These
Call-to-Action buttons are quite easy to use and help users in expressing themselves in
just few seconds!

8. Provides an Online Identity – When you register yourself at any social networking site,
you are provided to choose a username for yourself. You can explain what you like &
dislike, what are your interests and other personal info that you want to share with others.
Thus, you get a personal identity. Also, you can choose with whom you want to share this
personal info of yours!

9. Good Search Facility – Searching for a long lost friend? Searching for a job? Searching
for a business partner? Well, searching and finding suitable options for the same is
another appealing feature of social networking sites.

10. Real Time Updates – Who doesn’t love to share images of being standing at Times
Square to celebrate New Year’s Eve? Well, social networking sites allow you to update
 your real time status by posting latest info and images on where you are and what you are
doing!

Advantages of Social Networking

1. Connect with friends and families – Find friends and family members. Add them, send
message to them and stay connected with them! Social networking always helps you stay
connected!

2. Share photos and information with friends – With the help of social sites and apps,
you can share any info, content, image, file or photograph with your friends, any time or
anywhere!

3. Find people who share similar interests – It always feels good to talk with people who
share interests like us! And, social networks help you find such people in just few clicks!
Also, you can find many groups or communities that are based on people with similar
interests. By being a part of such groups, you too can participate in the ongoing chats or
discussions.

4. Business promotion, branding and expansion – Today, social networking sites are not
only confined to communication. They have become super-hit places to promote and
expand your business. Social sites help you display your products, brands, offers, etc
through your personal account and hence, promoting business becomes very easy and
fast!

5. Boosts ecommerce and online websites: Aids in attracting traffic – Websites can
really benefit a lot by using social networking sites in a correct way. Much of targeted
users and traffic can be attracted with the help of these sites.

6. Gain and share information with others – Social sites help you get info on almost
every subject. What actually matters is that whether you have selected the right
group/community or not!

7. Express opinions – You can express your opinions and thoughts on any post/link posted
by others. Thus, social networking sites allow you to express your opinions.
 8. Cost Effective – Have you ever given it a thought that how much does it take in physical
promotion of businesses OR in finding the target audience? Well, promoting, marketing,
and expanding businesses through social networks are very cost effective ways!

9. Educate consumers – You can also educate and connect with the consumers with the
help of these social platforms. You easily get to explain your products/brand on these
platforms. In addition, you can clarify your consumers’ doubts on these platforms easily.

10. Social identity – Social networking sites help users, including common users,
businesspeople, entrepreneurs and others, build a strong social identity.

Disadvantages of Social Networking

1. Fake and incorrect information sharing – Social networking sites can create panic
when fake and wrong information is shared upon them. Some people might use these
busy virtual platforms to create panic and tension.

2. Innocent people fall easy prey of false schemes – Many times, the fake companies or
people can attract some innocent or inexperienced users towards false schemes. Hence,
social networking sites should be used carefully.

3. Lacks emotional connect – No matter, how happy and content we feel while using these
sites, but the truth is that these social sites lack that emotional connect which we need in
physical. Therefore, these sites lack the pleasure that we actually feel in meeting our
friends or family.

4. Increased Threats – Some people can use these sites for sending illegal or offensive
messages that can create tension in various communities.

5. Misuse of Freedom – The freedom of expression on social networking sites can be

misused by many unwanted elements in the form of prank and harmful jokes, bullying,
invasion on users’ privacy, etc.

6. Increased communication gap – Another disadvantage of social networking sites is that

they are indirectly responsible for continuously increasing communication gap among
family members. Be it teens or adults; everyone is so busy in these social sites chatting
that they hardly find time to communicate with each other.
 7. Wastage of time, energy, and money – Using too much of these sites invites wastage of
time, energy and money. The same time can be used for doing so many other tasks that
turn out to be fruitful in many senses. Spending limited time on these sites is one thing
and spending hours, is altogether a different thing!

8. Threats to Privacy –It is suggested that members of various social networking sites
should use these online platforms carefully. They should not share their personal
information with anyone unless they are completely assured about the same.

9. Web Addiction – Chatting and sharing thoughts, information, etc. on social sites seems
interesting, but excess of everything is bad! Hence, social sites when used excessively give rise
to the problem of web addiction.

Conclusion

Social network is indeed boon for human race as it is bringing people closer and letting them
communicate with each other without any fear and barrier. But still

one need to be cautious of what level of personal information they are revealing on social
network.