The European Union is set to implement some operating guidelines for companies and their social networking sites including Facebook, MySpace and others. The new regulation is aimed at ensuring that companies who operate these social networks comply with privacy laws. More particularly, the EU would like to ensure that these sites do not use and distribute personal information divulged by individuals without consent.
What is it with government agencies and online social media? I mean is the online world replacing the real society that government agencies are disturb that the world will now revolve in the virtual space and that they are not prepared for this kind of change?
A few days ago, the FTC announced that it will be scrutinizing paid bloggers and their work to ensure that they’ve fully closed that they are being paid for writing consumer product reviews on their blogs.
And now, it’s the EU’s turn to crack down on social networks. Interestingly, the regulation with not apply to social network companies in the EU countries but also those companies who operates internationally but have members located in the EU countries.
One couldn’t help but wonder right now as to who or which will be the next target of a government agency.