Ontario privacy chief targets university-aged social networkers

For younger Canadians, attending university marks a transition of sorts: a move into the adult world of personal responsibility and critical thinking. But post-secondary students need to brush up on the implications of social networking services, according to Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner. "Privacy is all about choices, but they should be informed choices," Ann Cavoukian says. "Turn your mind to what could happen to this information if it ends up in the hands of what I call the "three Ps": your professors, prospective employers, and predators." On June 10, Ontario’s universities were added to the list of organizations and agencies governed by the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, transgressions of and complaints under which are the purview of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. As a result, Cavoukian had been looking for a way to reach university students and help them learn about the importance of guarding personal information online. Enter Palo Alto CA-based Facebook, a social networking service that allows users to group together under their shared school or work networks. Cavoukian says Facebook had contacted her earlier in the year to showcase their privacy protection policies and discuss personal information online in general. Together, the organizations set up a focus group of 10 students from six universities to discuss privacy concerns around social networking. But while Cavoukian says everyone in the group was a dedicated Facebook user, she was greeted with "blank stares" when she asked about the site’s privacy policy. "Nobody even thought to review the privacy settings, or what they could do or couldn’t do," she says. The partnership between the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and Facebook culminated in the release of a brochure, When Online Gets Out of Line, which aims to raise awareness about personal information on the Internet and reinforce the message that users should pay attention to how they can customize privacy settings to safeguard their information. "I think we just have to drive this message home again and again, because it gets easily lost in the shuffle, in the hurry to jump in and use the program," Cavoukian says. "But if you go to Facebook and look at My Privacy, it’ll take you two minutes. It’s not onerous, it’s not a big deal, just do it." And with the temptations of managing a budget and living away from home for the first time facing many university students, they are perhaps less likely to take pains to control how information about them is used. "They never thought of the future possibilities of where this information might end up – imagine photos taken at drunken parties," Cavoukian says. "If you are going to have that online, it’ll be there forever: a prospective in-law might see it, a professor, a prospective employer, lots of people." While jurisdiction and location often play into the rules and regulations governing online properties (see story, p.1), "I always think some things transcend jurisdiction," Cavoukian says, adding that despite the fact that Facebook is a US company, her office has a definite role to play in disseminating information and dealing with abuses in regard to online privacy. "We deal with tech issues wherever they are – they know no borders," she says. "So, it doesn’t concern me that this is an American company – what we need to do is educate users." The bulk of complaints coming through Cavoukian’s office have overwhelmingly dealt with medical records issues, but she says she’s also prepared to investigate online abuses. "We take complaints from anyone, if it’s relating to personal information and we have a broad mandate to educate the public on privacy and access issues, we’ll look into it."

Ontario privacy chief targets university-aged social networkers

Broadcast | October 18, 2006

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