Web hosting: Opt-out functions vital for social media users
Wednesday 1st September 2010
Web hosting users should ensure they offer an opt-out function if they are providing services or information via social media, it has been claimed.
Justin Cooke, chair of the British Interactive Media Association, noted that networking websites are now taking consumer privacy far more seriously than in the past.
He claimed that they have had no choice but to add new security safeguards, given the emergence of new online threats over the past months and years.
For businesses using these platforms, "having a very sophisticated opt-out model is key", Mr Cooke stated.
"However, I also believe that by its nature this type of activity is participatory, and therefore consumers need to opt-in," he claimed.
Commentators report that on Facebook, the world's most used social networking website, when a user checks in this information appears in their News Feed and activity section.
However, the individual can opt out of this by changing their privacy settings.
Written by Chris Ball