Are millions of Facebook and MySpace users right to share so much personal data online? New technologies are radically changing the way we communicate and interact, but they also hold the potential to undermine our privacy and threaten our security. Vast amounts of personal data on private individuals are being generated from a wide range of sources including social networking sites, government databases and even the humble supermarket loyalty card. As government and commercial organisations begin to share and exploit (and even lose) this information, Karen Lawrence Öqvist discusses the wider implications of these developments. How do we safeguard our privacy and protect our children in this new Information Society, where the rules of engagement have not yet been defined?

A glimpse into the world of Web 2.0 and social networking sites, set against a backdrop of surveillance and tracking in the real world. When technology blurs the gap between virtual and reality, are the millions of Bebo, Facebook and MySpace users right to share so much data, and what are the implications for our children?

Social networking, government databases, online shopping and loyalty cards have all generated vast amounts of personal data. This book reveals the impact this is having on our privacy and security, and provides practical information on how we can safeguard our identity and protect our children in the information society.