Children online - Protecting privacy

NOT every parent who has reviewed how their young child uses social networking sites has been shocked or disappointed but more than enough have.

The European Commission yesterday confirmed that one-in-eight Irish children are needlessly exposed online because they do not have the privacy settings needed to protect personal information.

It is estimated that 60% of children use social networking sites but that almost half of them do not know how to change online profiles to make personal details secure. One in 12 children innocently gives an address or phone number.

The internet has changed our world forever, mostly for the better, but it is silly to pretend that there are not good reasons to be concerned as well, especially when children are involved.

Those concerns were partially addressed in Brussels yesterday when a programme promoting awareness of privacy issues was launched.

This is a fraught area and no parent wants to wrap a child in cotton wool but children must be protected even if they resent the intrusion.