Spokeo Threatens Internet Safety for Kids? FBI Claims Progress
Teen Unconcerned About Internet Privacy, Removing Social Media Data May Help
First, some sobering statistics: According to the FBI, one in seven minors has experienced unwanted sexual advances or solicitations, one in three has viewed unwanted sexual material, and one in 11 has been harassed online. Other concerns regarded Internet safety are not limited to bullying, harassment and financial or identity theft. The FBI aims to educate kids on these dangers via this in-school program, which is now available in 41 states.
Where do sites like Spokeo fit in? Any Internet user can plug in a person's name, user name, e-mail or phone number and gain a sweeping view of another's social media activity, their address, salary, friends and a photo of their home perhaps.
Readers can see this for themselves, or view the video "How to Spy on Your Friends with Your Web Browser" at Webcastr, which shows many people remain surprised that these data are out there for the world to see. And in fairness to Spokeo, this information is generally provided and made public, inadvertently or not, by the person being investigated.
As the average Internet user does not know how to find socioeconomic data and web usage habits on someone as thoroughly or quickly on their own, this essentially translates into more people manipulating social media for good or evil purposes without much technological savvy or time investment required.
Additionally, while parents may feel over-protective when it involves their kids and the Internet, some studies - if not simple observations - show that teens really are not too concerned about stranger danger.
An online study performed last spring shows that while 80 percent of a teen's time is spent on a social network, - Facebook ranking number one - only 13 percent claimed to be "uncomfortable with people seeing my personal stuff." (Teens Social Network Study, June 10, 2009)
Though the sampling of 600 was relative small, one only has to look at what is posted on profiles on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Windows Live Spaces, Bebo and the like to support these findings.
Remedies:
To learn more about SOS, visit the FBI website, where you will also find additional free Internet safety tools designed for both kids and adults.
As far as how to remove personal data from Spokeo? Click on the Privacy link at the footer of their web pages. From here, an individual can input website addresses for listings he or she wants removed. Alternatively, a third-party service can do the work for you as advertised.
Without question, the concern about Internet privacy and sites like Spokeo remains justified, though it is up to kids and parents to quit providing the information so casually.
Sources:
Keeping Kids Safe Online, FBI Program Offered in Schools
Federal Bureau of Investigation (January 11, 2001)
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/january/online_011111/online_011111
How to Spy on Friends with Your Web Browser, January 7, 2011 (Video)
http://www.webcastr.com/videos/news/how-to-spy-on-your-friends-from-your-browser.html
Teens Social Network Study, June 10, 2009, June, 2010 (Scribd)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33751159/Teens-Social-Networks-Study-June-2010
Published by Donna Porter
Writer / Journalist -- A Yahoo News! Contributor Donna began her writing and internet career in 1995 in the health industry and became an early dot-com entrepreneur soon after. Masters certified in Internet... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentI removed my info from Spokeo and they continue to display information GROUPED together wether accurate or inaccurate and display that info together WITH my nonpublished PHONE NUMBer and this is JUST WRONG
Excellent work. It is so good to have you back my friend.
Very good and interesting info. I encourage my grandkids not to put personal info on the internet.
Good info. I try to put as little personal info as possible out there, but I'm sure we all have more out there than we should. I saw where my youngest granddaughter had posted on Facebook that she just got her own cell phone. Her friend asked what was her number and she told her. I sent her a personal message and suggested that she take the number off Facebook and just give it to those she wants to have it. It hadn't occurred to her that someone might get it that she didn't want to have it.
Thanks for the info and a well-written piece.
Thanks for the info. I just removed my name from it. I appreciate this.
As usual, you have cast light on something I had not heard of before. Love how you not only presented the problem, but also posed a solution.
Sometimes having access to information is good, but it is alarming when people use it for wrong.