Taming the wild world wide web

The UK House of Lords today revealed new international guidelines for the users of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

The UK House of Lords today revealed new international guidelines for the users of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

The guidelines which were developed in conjunction with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) call for improved mechanisms for reporting bullying or anti social behavour and included suggestions aimed at improving the safety of online networking sites for teens and children. The guidelines recommend that social networking profiles for users aged under 18 be made private by default.

Accordng to ACMA Chairman Chris Chapman “the guidelines aim to ensure the online social networking experience remains a positive one by providing good practice recommendations to online social networking providers to assist them in providing proper protections for their users”.

The release of the guidelines is particularly timely given the recent attack on Facebook which saw users such as socialite Paris Hilton have her private photos on display (see story here) and the SMH publishing photos from members of the Australian swim team (including controversial swimmer Nick D’Arcy) partying the night away…

Australia, the UK and the USA were the only countries to be involved in the initiative.

Reported by Cec Busby