Employers Can Now Spy on You on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Other Sites

[marmar]

from AlterNet:



Employers Can Now Spy on You on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Other Sites


Cisco Systems has released new software that makes it easier for businesses, including employers, to keep track of user info on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

For the low, low price of $2,500+:

The new SocialMiner software tracks the status updates, forum posts, and blog posts of customers and potential customers in real-time, giving businesses immediate information about consumers' opinions and preferences....Being able to monitor this vast ocean of information and respond to customers' concerns has the potential to greatly increase a brand's reputation, Cisco officials said.

As Raw Story notes, efforts to track social networking use are nothing new. In fact, the U.S. government has reportedly monitored the Twitter feeds of anti-war and anti-G20 activists and was said to have conducted a major social networking sweep during the Obama inauguration.

But the more "Big Brother" companies get with our digital lives, the more privacy concerns bubble to the surface:

The European Union is reportedly planning to crack down on Facebook and Google, who both collect private data about users in order to sell targeted advertising. The new guidelines will prohibit the downloading and storing of users personal data without their consent.

"The protection of personal data is a fundamental right," Viviane Reding, the European Union's justice commissioner, said in a statement.

"To guarantee this right, we need clear and consistent data protection rules. We also need to bring our laws up to date with the challenges raised by new technologies and globalization."

-- By Lauren Kelley


http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/317249/employers_can_now_spy_on_you_on_twitter%2C_facebook%2C_linkedin_and_other_sites/

[tridim]

1. LinkedIn is there precisely so employers can "spy" on me.

:shrug:

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. My employer's compliance department doesn't allow us to use Twitter/LinkedIn

and all Facebook accounts must not link or mention anything about the company.

Most of us just mask the accounts and tell Compliance that we don't use the sites.

:eyes:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. I can understand that...it can be very sensitive

but pictures of vacations & weddings less so.

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. I am referring to personal accounts.

Twitter and LinkedIn are blocked from our work computers.

We aren't allowed to have personal accounts that we access from private computers outside of the office.

Logic is that they can't supervise our every uttering.

Of course, I work for a argelay allway treetsay ankbay. ;)

[Toucano]

3. Social media IS the surrender of privacy - that's the point!

If you want "privacy", stay out of those sites.

D'uh?!

[blue sky at night]

4. you know I never have used the "social networking" sites....

god I hate the term, but I am wondering about DU, they can't really see who you are from the outside right? Facebook and Twitter use your real identity right??

[ibegurpard]

6. my boss friended me on facebook

how could I refuse?
so i watch what I say on there anyway
any sane person should regardless

[reggie the dog]

7. tell your boss that you are not their friend?

i got an invite from the principal of the school i was at and i refused it and i gave no reason

[pipi_k]

8. Although anyone looking for a good reason...

might say that s/he prefers to keep work and personal lives separate. Period.

Nothing wrong with that. There are some boundaries that a lot of people don't want crossed.

[ibegurpard]

9. i hear you but the very nature of facebook sort of defeats that purpose

so if I choose to participate, i either limit how much I share or expect anything i put on there to be fair game.
edit: spelling

[Cid_B]

10. This one made me chuckle the other day..

[Jester Messiah]

12. Reading info that you put into the public domain != spying

If you wouldn't want your boss, your spouse, or your mom to see something, don't post it. Or at least don't post it unprotected. Facebook and other sites have ways of letting you group contacts and determine what they can and can't see. Get to know these tools well!