Facebook users open to online predators, says Nicta

National

By DALE LUMA
A LOT of users of social media, especially Facebook, do not use correct settings to protect their personal information, leaving them open to online predators.
“They create their accounts but they are not familiar how to protect their information or personal details,” National Information and Communications Technology Authority (Nicta) legal service manager Ian Mileng said.
“They just sign up for Facebook accounts and that’s it.”
Mileng said Facebook users needed to be careful about the kind of information they put out and how to correctly do the settings on their account on who sees what and what goes out.
He said unfortunately there were predators who were preying on innocent Facebook users and were attacking them in different ways.
He said one thing people did not realise was that their phone could synchronise with their social media account so it automatically uploaded information from their phone to their social media account.
“You need to go to the settings and switch off the synchronisation option so that the information on your phone doesn’t just upload automatically onto Facebook or other social media platforms,” Mileng said.
“These are the types of things social media users need to be aware of so that they can better protect their personal information.”
Mileng encouraged those who are just starting to use Facebook to be aware of the dangers of being online and to have the right setting on their accounts.
“Nowadays, a lot of young children at the ages of six, seven and eight have access to mobile phones and the internet and are creating Facebook accounts but are not aware of the potential danger of being online.
“The older generation, who are just starting to use social media, also need be aware and have the correct setting in order to protect their information.”
Mileng warned that people using Facebook should not make any false comment damaging to other people because they would be held responsible for it.
“Facebook is good but if you are going to make comments, they must be factual. If they are not, you will be held liable for defamation.”