The problem with social networking sites......

I remember reading an article about a year ago about people putting information on social networking sites that had come back to haunt them later on. Another article suggested that employers were reading through peoples Facebook, Bebo or MySpace sites to get a feel of what the person was really like. The issues is that information held on social networking sites at the moment isn't automatically deleted after a specific time frame and unless you do it yourself, this means that any photos, comments or messages you leave would remain unless you yourself deleted them.

This week Facebook have been in the news for changing the terms of their service regarding user data. The new terms seemed to suggest that even if an individual deleted their account, Facebook would retain their personal data and any comments or messages left on someone elses Facebook page wouldn't disappear. Facebook have now decided to return to their original terms of service.

The reaction to the changes that Facebook proposed is part of a wider problem about who actually owns personal information - comments, photos, videos etc. - which is stored on social network accounts. It also reflects the problems of what to do with it if someone decides to close their account.

To read the article, click on the links below:

Facebook Article

BBC Technology Blog