Social Networks, Terms of Services and You

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Social networking websites-such as Myspace, Facebook and Twitter are steadily gaining popularity.  It seems that everyone nowadays uses some type of social networking service to keep in touch with friends, family and even making business connections.  For most, social networking websites are a lot of fun and convenient.   It’s nice to be able to log onto a website and instantly connect to a wide range of people, and for those who might not get a chance to meet a lot of people in their daily life, social networking websites are a fairly easy way to meet new people to befriend, whether they live in your own back yard, or thousands of miles away.

Like so many things however, social networking sites do have some negative issues surrounding them.   When you sign up to use a social networking site, you are possibly opening yourself up to vulnerabilities.  Those vulnerabilities can be in the form of malicious codes and viruses that may infect your computer and they can also come in the form of other users.  We have all heard the horror stories of pedophiles using websites like MySpace to lure little kids into harms way-however, pedophiles only make up a tiny little percentage of “bad guys” you or your children might encounter.  Instead, there is a greater chance of encountering an individual or group who use the anonymous nature of the world wide web to well, behave badly.  Cyberbullying and cyberharrassment are increasingly becoming a threat to both children and adults alike.  One of the most monumental cases of cyber bullying is the story of Megan Meier, a teenage girl who committed suicide after falling victim to a cruel hoax.

Before a person is allowed to begin using a social networking website, he or she is required to read and agree to a Terms of Service (a TOS).  An example of the Twitter’s TOS agreement can be found here.  One of the TOS states: “You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.” This rule is not just in place on Twitter, it is in place for any type of social website, whether it be Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, or even a message board.  It’s a good rule to have; however, it will only work if it’s enforced.

Recently a fellow blogger and founder of eMailOurMilitary.com was subjected to harassment while using Twitter.  She summed up the situation on her blog by the following:

“To make a long story short, someone sought me out on twitter and made it their mission to post harassing, abusive and libelous statements about me and my company. I’m all about freedom of speech. I’m all for discussion, discourse and debate but when someone creates 20 or so accounts for the sole purpose of stalking me or posting libelous statements about my company that’s where I draw the line.”

Being a conscientious and savvy web user, she immediately blocked the harasser and his various Twitter accounts and contacted Twitters administration about the breach of TOS.  Instead of Twitter taking action and investigating the matter, they informed her that she should block him and protect her posts.  Instead of protecting her and holding to the TOS agreements, it seemed as it they blamed HER for getting harassed and complaining about it-kind of like blaming a rape victim for getting raped because she was wearing a short skirt.

Like any other business, Twitter offers a service to consumers.  As with any business, they have a responsibility to their consumers to make sure that they are safe-not only from viruses and trojans, but also from those individuals who believe that the world wide web gives them free rein to make other people’s lives difficult.

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