INTERNET : COMMISSION FRETS OVER CHILD PROTECTION.

According to an EU study, 50% of European teenagers give out personal information on the web, which can remain online forever and can be seen by anybody. On 9 February, on the occasion of Safer Internet Day, the European Commission passed the following message to teenagers: Think before you post!'.

Most of the companies running social networking sites have empowered minors to tackle online risks by making it easier to change privacy settings, block users or delete unwanted comments and content. Yet more needs to be done to protect children online, the Commission says.

At the 2009 Safer Internet Day, social networking companies recognised the need for young users - and their parents - to feel safe when socialising online and committed to the Safer social networking principles'. Eighteen companies signed these principles in February 2009 and were subsequently joined by others.

One year on, the Commission has published a report on the implementation of the principles on the 25 sites run by the signatories (Arto, Bebo, Dailymotion, Facebook, Giovani.it, YouTube, Hyves, Windows Live, Xboxlive, Myspace, Nasza-klaza.pl, Netlog, One.lt, Piczo, Rate.ee, Skyrock, SchulerVZ, StudiVZ, MeinVZ, Habbo, IRC Galleria, Tuenti, Yahoo!Answers, Flickr, and Zap.lu). Findings show that 19 out of 23 sites provide safety tips and information specifically targeted towards children and/or teenagers. This information is both easy to find and easy to...