New Facebook settings ‘may expose children to predators’

FACEBOOK has come under fire from internet security experts over a relaxation in its privacy settings, which may place younger people at increased risk of being preyed on.

The popular social networking site — which has over 900,000 users in Ireland alone — is testing new settings that recommended a privacy level which exposes much of the user’s information to strangers.

They will also have the option to share their information with “everyone,” in a move widely perceived as a response to Twitter, the micro-blogging site which has rarely been far from the news in recent weeks.

Conor Flynn, technical director with specialists Rits Information Security, has warned that younger and more vulnerable Facebook users can be too naïve and trusting with their personal information.

“I would be concerned as a parent of the potential exposure of information belonging to children and early teens who are not necessarily equipped with the cynical social skills to protect their information,” Mr Flynn said.

Facebook’s chief privacy officer Chris Kelly said: “The compounding effect of more and more settings has made controlling privacy on Facebook too complicated.”

The new move would “simplify” settings, putting them all on the same page to ensure a uniformity of privacy options for different features.

However, Mr Flynn said that any relaxation in security or any encouragement to make personal photos available to strangers was “disturbing”.

“One of the problems with Facebook is that the age profile is going down, and becoming more popular with the young teen community,” he said.

Facebook can be a fertile ground for “grooming” and making unwanted connections, according to Mr Flynn, and young people don’t realise what can happen from photos uploaded from a party or wherever.

“One hates to sound like the Christmas Grinch, but I always remember a cartoon from years ago saying: ‘On the internet no one knows you’re a dog’, meaning that people online could really be any age, gender, or persuasion,” he said.

He also pointed to the danger of malware programs, such as viruses and Trojan horses, which can collect passwords and send them on to the hacker community.

But Mr Flynn recommended that users shoulder a certain amount of responsibility for their own security rather than solely laying the blame on the service provider.

“People need to have a little bit more suspicion and a little bit more awareness,” he said.