Social Media: Innocence Exposed

Context

Your platform hosts millions of publicly accessible posts containing identifiable images, names, and locations of students linked to schools—posing serious privacy and child safety risks. Stricter privacy settings limit content sharing and engagement. Critics argue your platform enables exploitation.

Dilemma

A) Proactively restrict identifiable student data in school-linked posts, risking increased moderation costs to prioritize child safety and privacy.

B) Maintain current policies, placing responsibility on users and schools, to preserve platform openness and avoid disrupting user engagement.

Summary

A 15-year study of 18 million Facebook posts revealed millions of students at risk due to publicly available identifiable images, names, and locations linked to U.S. schools. Researchers found nearly 5 million identifiable student images, with most including full names. The study warns of potential misuse by harmful actors, citing child exploitation concerns. It urges governments, schools, social media platforms, and parents to take action to protect student privacy.

Resources:

• https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X221120538