RIGHT OF PRIVACY

Should schools be able to intervene into off-campus activities posted on facebook?

Smith, Mary Lynn. “Facebook photos land Eden Prarie kids in trouble.” StarTribune 9 Jan. 2008 7 Dec. 2008 http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=13549646.

The point of view from this article is basically multiple interviews of students who were involved in the Eden Prairie drinking incident last year. Posted on facebook were photos taken of these students either holding alcohol, near a friend with alcohol or in a picture with alcohol in the background. More than 100 students were suspended and many were not allowed to participate into sports for a while or had their captainship taken away from them. These pictures ruined most of the athletes’ future. During the interviews, several of the kids said that “… it’s a huge invasion of privacy.” Some believed that facebook should be private, while few students stood up and voiced shamelessly on their fellow classmates. The few students who countered many believe that it was stupid for the other classmates to post photos of themselves or others drinking, and they deserve the punishments they got.

Boslet, Mark. “Internet Users Give Mixed Signals on Privacy Concerns.” San Jose Mercury News (MCT) SIRS Researcher. SIRS Knowledge Source . Edina High School. 4 Mar. 2008 http://sks.sirs.com/.

This article brings up the issue of internet privacy. The past events where companies such as Beacon are able to grab hold of people’s background due to the internet, hasn’t changed people’s actions. The population asks for internet safety, but doesn’t prevent themselves as much as possible to avoid a situation crossing the line for their privacy on the internet. The privacy advocates say programs like Beacon share their information about customers via facebook, by sharing it with their friends. In answer to the unhappy public, the Federal Trade Commission has released proposed guidelines requiring web sites to allow consumers to choose whether information about them is collected. Most companies are furious, but the consumers seem to be happier. This new rule would act similar to the do not call registry for blocking telemarketing calls. It would ensure a little more privacy on the internet, moving one step forward at a time.