JOHANNESBURG (Xinhua)

Be careful about information

you put on Internet

South Africans have been warned to be more careful about what information they put on the Internet.

In a statement on Monday, Liza van Wyk, chief executive officer of AstroTech and BizTech, one of the country’s biggest training companies, said neither business nor the public are aware of how much information can be accessed by outsiders, a lot of which is distributed voluntarily.

"As an example, those who use games and applications on Facebook, surrender a significant amount of information about themselves and their friends every time they allow an application.

"There are cookies that hold significant information about individuals and their companies and sell it on to information purveyors," she said.

In South Africa companies are allowed to screen the emails and telephone calls of employees.

Van Wyk said that not enough employees are sensitive to how the unwise posting of comments or photographs on Facebook or Twitter could damage their careers and even their future.

A student and Facebook fanatic in Johannesburg, who did not want to be named, told Xinhua recently that she had almost lost her part-time job as a result of photographs she put on Facebook.

"I was working part time at an after-care facility, looking after 6-year-olds to make some extra money while I was studying and

"I posted what I thought were harmless photos of me at a friend’s birthday party. One of the children’s mothers was a friend of a friend and saw the photos I had tagged of her. We were at a pool party and were drinking.

"The photos weren’t pornographic or anything, but they were a little crazy! You know what students are like," she said.

As a result of the photographs, the child’s mother complained to the owner of the aftercare and the young student almost lost her job.

"She warned me that I should be careful about what I posted. I was so embarrassed I closed my account for a while," she added.

Van Wyk believes that knowledge of how social media works and the potential dangers they impose is vital in protecting information.

"Our Internet Technology and the law courses are consistently full as companies are realizing the challenges and dangers the internet poses, and similarly our social marketing media courses are just as full because companies are keen to exploit this free advertising medium, but also need to protect information," she said.

A recent survey by Microsoft found that 75 per cent of U.S. human resource professionals are required by their companies to do on-line research about candidates.

Seventy percent of the recruiters in the United States report that they have rejected candidates because of information found on-line.

"Inroads into privacy are increasing; soon, Internet searches for images are likely to be combined with social-network search engines, which combine data from on-line sources including political contributions, blog posts, YouTube videos and Web comments.

"Reputation is going to become a very fragile commodity.

"What you posted when you were a high spirited 18-year-old could come back to haunt you as an ambitious 30-year-old," van Wyk added.

Van Wyk’s comments came as the Internet Service providers Association of South Africa ( ISPA) has committed itself to working with the South African government and other stakeholders to protect South African children on-line.

In August, South Africa’s former Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba announced that his department would be fast-tracking the process of a yet-to-be drafted law that will compel Internet Service Providers (ISP) to filter content provided to their users, in an effort to stop the distribution of pornography in the country.

If the bill is passed, South Africans could soon see access to pornography via the Internet and cell phones effectively stopped.

According to New Media Lawyer Paul Jacobson, while van Wyk’s advice is vital, the Internet is an "open democracy".

"As with Home Affairs Department’s concerns, trying to govern, or control the Internet is very difficult," he told Xinhua during a telephone interview on Monday.

Jacobson referred to a recent spat that ANC Youth League president Julius Malema recently had with Twitter.

Malema threatened to try and shut down social networking site "twitter" because there were anonymous people imitating him on the site.

"If one looks at this case, we are able to see how big the Internet and in turn, how dangerous it can be if users are not careful," said Jacobson.

While the Internet may be difficult to govern, Jacobson did agree that Internet users and especially employees need to be very careful about what they post on social networking sites.

"It should be a simple case of "would I want my boss to know this about me?" Obviously if you call into work sick and post a status saying that you are out at the local bar, you will get into trouble," he added.

In terms of cyber crime, Jacobson said it would never be a good idea to post too much personal information on the Internet.

"I think that social media sites can be great tool, depending on how they are used. I don’t think that companies sit on the Internet trying to catch their employees out, but Internet users need to be aware of what they are posting on the Internet. We seem to think the Internet is an empty platform, but it is not," he added.

Van Wyk said that training both companies and individuals on the dangers of the Internet is important in ensuring that both protect themselves.

"It is vital for citizens and companies to be sensitized to what is, and what is not admissible and the ways in which they can compromise critical information that could damage reputations and destroy lives or businesses," she said.

"Internet law is one of the most rapidly changing areas of law in the world, but it is vital to stay ahead of new developments in law and technology," she concluded.