tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73349922024-03-05T04:42:24.008-05:00Parry Aftab's BlogWhere Parry Aftab Blogs on Cybersafety, Privacy and CybersenseParry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.comBlogger1965125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-19782025932499015722014-05-02T15:57:00.000-04:002014-05-02T16:01:33.222-04:00Canada's Cyberbullying/Sexting Protection Legislation - C-13 and its Voluntary Disclosure ProvisionCanada was the first nation in the world to adopt a law targeting cyberstalking and cyberharassment. Now, 20 years or so later, it is the first country in the world to address hostile sexting and revenge porn. I applaude the leadership of Canada and Minister MacKay in their forward thinking.<br />
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But, not all about C-13 is designed to address cyberbullying/hostile-sexting/revenge porn. In a broad stroke many security and law enforcement empowering provisions were added, some (IMHO) far beyond what is needed to accomplish its purposes. Spousal immunity is challenged in C-13. And C-13 attempts to provide immunity for industry members voluntarily turning over personal information to governmental agencies.<br />
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While I may have privacy concerns over this provision in a vacuum where Canada is the sole country with digital networks and providers, my concerns are more for the industry itself in the real world. Canada, although the most digitally socially engaged country in the world does not exist in a vacuum. The Twitter, Googles, Microsofts, Facebooks, Yahoos, Minecrafts, Ubisofts and Blizzards of the world exist globally. Most are headquartered in the US with some having offices or subdivisions in Canada.<br />
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These companies create contracts with their users. Those contracts include privacy policies, terms of service and use and limited licenses of use of software and resources. When we blindly click "I accept" we are signing that contract. By offering you the ability to accept, the company has offered and signed their end.<br />
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If the company fails to live up to its end of the contract it can be sued in the civil courts, may face regulatory enforcement actions by privacy or consumer protection agencies and may even be charged with a crime. Since the privacy practices are contractual, the government of Canada has no legal authority to provide immunity to a network provider for breaching that contract. The user would still have a right of action in the US or other countries around the world. And, the network could still face liability for that "voluntary" breach by regulatory authorities in the US and elsewhere.<br />
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In the rare case when Canadian-providers only do business with Canadians within Canada and are exempt from international legal authority, C-13's immunity for voluntary disclosures may work. And there Canadians are losing substantial civil rights when legal process can be ignored and investigators can request information be provided "voluntarily." What company would want to be seen as standing in the way of child recovery, terrorism curtailment or threats against the innocent? But, this assumes that law enforcement doesn't have a legal option that protects the privacy and security of Canadians and visitors to Canada. It assumes it is all or nothing. And that is an inherently faulty assumption.<br />
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If the subpoena power were streamlined to protect the privacy of Canadians, their civil rights and the ability of law enforcement to protect all of us, we don't have to choose between our privacy and community safety. We don't have to trade one right for another.<br />
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Thinking outside of the box is harder, but worth the work. I don't want cyberbullying victims, or hostile sexting victims or any victims to have to give up their privacy rights as a Canadian to be protected from digital hate and harassment. It's not fair. It's not right. It's not Canadian.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-13949993454764762142014-04-30T22:46:00.001-04:002014-04-30T23:11:38.632-04:00Pennsylvania Legalization of Online Gambling - May 1st hearings WiredSafety's White Paper and Parry Aftab's TestimonyTomorrow I testify yet again on online gambling. I spend my time protecting consumers, seniors, families, parents and kids online. I identify risks and seek solutions to those risks.<br />
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The industry and media are often surprised that I have taken a position that is not, on its face, consistent with my straight-laced positions on cybercrime and abuse. I support the legalization of certain online gambling. Sticking our heads in the sand pretending it doesn't exist, that people aren't being scammed because no one can look out for them or police whether minors can access these sites and apps, is dangerous.<br />
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The only way to effectively outlaw and stop cyberscams, fraud and gambling abuses is to license and regulate trustworthy industry members in developing online gambling avenues that manage the risks caused by unregulated online gambling.<br />
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The risks range from addictive/problem gambling, to minors gambling, to seniors being scammed by sketchy unregulated online gambling sites, to unpaid winnings, financial credential crimes, identity theft, money laundering and malicious code/malware/hacking. Ironically, these risks are more easily managed online than in brick and mortar situations.<br />
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WiredSafety, the US charity I founded and run, commissioned an important review of international practices and experiences conducted by Malcolm Sparrow from the Kennedy School at Harvard. This was presented to the Congressional Committee charged with the review of laws impacting online gambling. Both Malcolm and I testified before the Democratic-Chaired Committee. (I had testified previously before the same Committee when controlled by the Republicans.) The paper can be accessed at wiredsafety.org (<a href="https://www.wiredsafety.org/pdf/Can_Internet_Gambling_Be_Effectively_Regulated_Managing_the_Risks%20Final.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.wiredsafety.org/pdf/Can_Internet_Gambling_Be_Effectively_Regulated_Managing_the_Risks%20Final.pdf</a>)<br />
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Powerful voices agreed with my opinion and Malcolm's paper - Louis Freeh (former Director of the FBI) and Governor Tom Ridge (the first head of Homeland Security) joined me on the board of the non-profit FreePlay, also convinced that the only way to be effective in managing the risks and preventing abuses was to legalize and then heavily regulate online gambling.<br />
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Once legalized and regulated, our work begins - educating parents, assisting seniors, helping make online gambling less accessible to problem/addictive gamblers and making sure that experienced digital security, privacy and best practices professionals help build safer, more private and more secure networks and enforcement processes.<br />
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That's what I will tell the legislators tomorrow.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-90673972929357892462014-04-18T16:59:00.000-04:002014-04-18T16:59:47.790-04:00Finally, the beginning of closure for Carol Todd and Amanda's loved ones. Accused under arrest for sextorting Amanda ToddI love Carol Todd. She is funny, kind, creative and cares deeply about kids and people facing adversity. I met her for the first time when both of us attended the dropping of C-13, Canada's sexting/revenge porn bill, at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Canada.<br />
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On that day she was overwhelmed. Many of the leading cyberbullying and child protection advocates form North America were there. But the media followed Carol, hanging on her every word. She rarely has a moment to herself. Amanda is always with her. And, Amanda is always with us.<br />
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We connected again not long thereafter. And became friends and partners in stopping pain. Carol does this from her heart. I worry that she will burn out or break down, but with the exception of some teary and quiet moments, she is incredibly strong. She is also tireless and devoted to her cause, which is supporting Amanda's cause and passions.<br />
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Both of us were troubled that the person who sextorted Amanda, by threatening to put her intimate picture online. (He followed through with that threat.) When we spent an entire week together in March, we talked often about how great it would be to find him.<br />
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She just texted me. He's caught!<br />
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Now, we'll all work to make sure that justice is done.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-10930124438896024722014-03-10T20:56:00.000-04:002014-03-10T20:56:58.000-04:00What does WhatsApp collect that everyone is so worried about? Report of Findings Investigation into the personal information handling practices of WhatsApp Inc.<h1 style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgb(204, 204, 204) 2px 3px 5px; background-image: -webkit-linear-gradient(top, rgb(238, 239, 245) 0%, rgb(222, 224, 237) 100%); border-bottom-right-radius: 0.8em; border-top-right-radius: 0.8em; box-shadow: rgb(204, 204, 204) 2px 3px 5px; color: #232f84; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 23px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px 0px 1em; padding: 0.3em;">
Findings under the <em>Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act</em>(PIPEDA)</h1>
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<strong>PIPEDA Report of Findings #2013-001</strong></div>
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Report of Findings<br />Investigation into the personal information handling practices of WhatsApp Inc.</h2>
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<strong>January 15, 2013</strong></div>
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Complaints under the <em>Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act </em>(the “Act”)</h3>
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1. On January 26, 2012, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada initiated a complaint against WhatsApp Inc. (“WhatsApp”), a California corporation, pursuant to subsection 11(2) of the Act, having reasonable grounds to believe that it was collecting, using, disclosing and retaining personal information in a manner contrary to certain provisions of Schedule 1 of the Act.</div>
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2. The investigation was conducted in collaboration with the Dutch Data Protection Authority (College bescherming persoonsgegevens) and focused on alleged privacy violations concerning consent, limiting collection, limiting use and retention, and safeguards. The investigation was limited to privacy issues identified during the period January 26, 2012 through November 30, 2012.</div>
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3. WhatsApp was notified of the complaint on February 16, 2012 and cooperated fully with our investigation.</div>
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4. Representations were received from WhatsApp from March 22, 2012 through to January 4, 2013. On October 15, 2012, based on the results of our investigation, our Office issued a preliminary report of investigation to WhatsApp (“Preliminary Report”). In our Preliminary Report, we made recommendations to WhatsApp with the aim of ensuring that it was meeting its obligations under the Act vis-à-vis the issues we investigated. This report of findings reflects those recommendations and WhatsApp's response.</div>
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Introduction</h3>
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5. WhatsApp Inc. owns and operates “WhatsApp Messenger” (hereafter “the application”), a cross-platform mobile messaging service which allows individuals to exchange messages on their mobile devices through the Internet rather than by short message service (SMS). The application is available on a variety of mobile devices and platforms, including Apple's iPhone, Research in Motion's BlackBerry, and Google's Android. In addition to basic messaging, the application allows users to send and receive images, video and audio media messages.</div>
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6. WhatsApp is a US corporation registered and headquartered in California. WhatsApp actively promotes and distributes its service to Canadians. At the time our investigation was initiated, the application was considered one of the top-five best selling apps in the world, and was widely used by Canadians. By some estimates, the application is said to facilitate the transmission of over one billion messages per day globally.</div>
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7. At the time our investigation was initiated, a subscription to use the application cost $0.99. The application operates free of advertising, and messages sent and received using the application are free of charge to users, but for applicable network data fees. According to WhatsApp, it does not currently sell marketing data and does not share personal information with third parties. Personal information means information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.</div>
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Enrolment and account registration</h3>
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<em>Issue</em></h4>
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8. Based on a technical review of the application, our Office initiated a complaint in respect of WhatsApp's service registration process to investigate whether that process allowed for unauthorized access to a user's account, contrary to Principle 4.7 of Schedule 1 of the Act. More specifically, this Office investigated whether a user's WhatsApp account could be used prior to the completion of the user authentication process, thereby allowing a third party to create and control accounts associated with phone numbers which they did not own.</div>
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<em>Summary of Investigation</em></h4>
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9. Individuals may download WhatsApp's messenger service from a variety of on-line stores. In some cases, the application is pre-loaded to an individual's phone by a network carrier or device manufacturer.</div>
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10. Once the application has been downloaded to a mobile device, an individual is required to register with WhatsApp using his or her mobile device.</div>
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11. During the registration process, individuals are asked to read and accept WhatsApp's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are provided in a pop-up window at the time of registration and are also available on-line on WhatsApp's website.</div>
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12. Once an individual has read and accepted WhatsApp's terms of service, he or she is asked to specify the country in which they reside and to provide their mobile phone number. In some cases, the application may also ask a registrant for their preferred notification name (i.e., the name the user wishes to appear in out-going messages).</div>
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13. According to WhatsApp, once an individual has provided his or her country code and mobile telephone number, the application collects the following information from the registrant's mobile device: device identifier information, mobile subscriber ID, mobile country code, and mobile network code.</div>
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14. Using that information, WhatsApp sends an account confirmation message to the registrant by way of standard SMS. Using the registrant's reply to that message, WhatsApp then verifies that the personal information provided by the user during the registration process matches that attached to the mobile device. Once confirmed, a user is registered and his or her account is activated. The user may then begin sending and receiving messages with other WhatsApp users world-wide.</div>
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15. Notwithstanding the verification procedures above, in early 2011 it was reported in various technical reviews that WhatsApp's registration process allowed for the application's use even in cases where a user failed to respond to WhatsApp's account confirmation message. In other words, even in cases where a registrant failed to authenticate, the application would verify the registered device and allow for the transmission of messages to that device.</div>
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16. It was further reported that WhatsApp's account confirmation messages were being sent using ordinary web traffic ports, allegedly without encryption or safeguards. Absent appropriate security measures, confirmation messages and any personal information attached thereto ran the risk of being intercepted. Once intercepted, a confirmation number could be used to access and receive a user's messages and/or any other personal information sent to the programmed number (as detailed in the paragraphs following).</div>
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<em>Application of the Act</em></h4>
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17. In making our determination on this issue, we applied Principles 4.7 and 4.7.1 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Principle 4.7 requires that personal information be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Principle 4.7.1 goes on to say that an organization's security safeguards shall protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.</div>
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18. In our view, a registrant's device identifier information, mobile subscriber ID, mobile country code, and mobile network code constitute personal information under the Act, since that information, alone or in combination with other information, could render a specific individual identifiable.</div>
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19. According to WhatsApp, it first identified the registration issues outlined above in May 2011. Upon becoming aware of the potential for a security breach in registration, and prior to the initiation of our investigation, WhatsApp took measures to correct the problem.</div>
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20. In order to assess the accuracy of publicly reported registration flaws, and to confirm that the remedial actions undertaken by WhatsApp were sufficient in ensuring compliance with the Act, customized tests were performed of WhatsApp's registration process. Based on the test results, we were satisfied that issues identified with respect to WhatsApp's mobile registration process had been resolved.</div>
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<em>Finding</em></h4>
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21. Based on the results of our testing, and following confirmation from WhatsApp that it is not aware of any security issues outstanding relating to its registration process, we find concerns relating to the matter of WhatsApp's registration process to be <strong><a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/def_e.asp" style="color: #333333;">not well founded</a></strong>.</div>
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Integration with a user's address book</h3>
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<em>Issue</em></h4>
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22. Based on a technical review of the application, our Office initiated a complaint to investigate whether WhatsApp was collecting more personal information than necessary for the purposes of allowing its users to send and receive messages, contrary to Principle 4.4 of Schedule 1 of the Act. We also investigated whether WhatsApp required the upload of a user's <em>full </em>address book or contact list as a condition of service – as opposed to allowing for the use of contact information belonging only to those individuals a user chose to communicate with – contrary to Principle 4.3.3 of Schedule 1 of the Act.</div>
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<em>Summary of Investigation</em></h4>
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23. WhatsApp's messenger service provides an instant messaging system that can be used across mobile devices, whether BlackBerrys, iPhones, Windows-based phones or Androids. BlackBerry users, for example, may message Android users and iPhone users, and vice versa – a feature generally not available on the proprietary messaging systems built into phones by mobile manufacturers. In order to send and receive messages using the application, however, both the sender and recipient of a message must have the application installed and registered on his or her device.</div>
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24. In order to facilitate contact between application users, WhatsApp relies on a user's address book to populate his or her WhatsApp “All Contacts” list. Once a user consents to the use of his or her address book, contact information from the user's mobile device is periodically transmitted to WhatsApp's servers to assist in the identification of other WhatsApp users.</div>
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25. According to WhatsApp, the application is designed to upload a user's mobile address book to WhatsApp's servers up to two times daily, or as initiated by the user during a contact refresh. According to WhatsApp, personal information collected during the contact discovery process is limited to mobile numbers. WhatsApp contends that it does not collect the names, email addresses or other information stored in a user's address book. Association between contact names and numbers occurs on a user's device only, and not by virtue of any data matching by WhatsApp.</div>
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26. Once a user has consented to the use of his or her contact information for contact discovery, mobile numbers from the user's address book are transferred securely to WhatsApp's servers using Secure Socket Layer / Transport Layer Security or SSL/TLS encryption.</div>
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27. Once uploaded, a contact number is categorized by WhatsApp's corporate servers as being either “in-network” (i.e., registered with WhatsApp) or “out-of-network”. Only numbers listed as in-network can be contacted using the WhatsApp service. An out-of-network number would only become associated with a WhatsApp user once the application was installed and registered on a device with that number.</div>
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28. According to WhatsApp, in-network numbers are stored as original values (i.e., in clear text) on their servers. Out-of-network numbers are stored as one-way, irreversibly hashed values. WhatsApp uses a multi-step treatment of the numbers, with the key step being an “MD5” hash function. The phone number and a fixed salt value serve as input to the hash function, and the output is truncated to 53 bits and combined with the country code for the number. The result is a 64-bit value which is stored in data tables on WhatsApp's servers. According to WhatsApp, this procedure is designed to render out-of-network numbers (i.e., the mobile numbers of non-users) anonymous.</div>
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<em>Application of the Act</em></h4>
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29. In making our determination on this issue, we applied Principles 4.3.3 and 4.4.1 of Schedule 1 of the Act, and subsection 5(3) of the Act. Principle 4.4.1 precludes organizations from collecting personal information indiscriminately. By law, the collection of personal information must be limited to that which is necessary for stated purposes identified by an organization.</div>
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30. Principle 4.3.3 states that an organization shall not, as a condition of the supply of a product or service, require an individual to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of information beyond that required to fulfill the explicitly specified and legitimate purposes.</div>
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31. Subsection 5(3) of the Act states that an organization may only collect, use, or disclose personal information for purposes that a reasonable person would consider appropriate in the circumstances.</div>
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32. At the time our investigation was initiated, paragraph 3B of WhatsApp's Terms of Service provided the following information to users on the collection and integration of contact information:</div>
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<em>In order to access and use the features of the Service, you acknowledge and agree that you will have to provide WhatsApp with your mobile phone number. You expressly acknowledge and agree that in order to provide the Service, WhatsApp may periodically access your contact list and/or address book on your mobile device to find and keep track of mobile phone numbers of other users of the Service...</em></div>
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<em>You hereby give your express consent to WhatsApp to access your contact list and/or address book for mobile phone numbers in order to provide and use the Service. We do not collect names, addresses or email addresses, just mobile phone numbers.</em></div>
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33. According to WhatsApp, if a user withholds consent for the upload or integration of address book information, the application may continue to operate, but in a limited or degraded manner only. Users are not able to send and receive messages to individuals of their choice through the manual input of single or proposed contacts.</div>
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34. In the course of our investigation, customized tests were performed of the application's contact discovery process. Based on the test results, we confirmed that personal information collected during the contact discovery process is limited to mobile numbers only.</div>
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<em>Recommendations and Finding</em></h4>
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35. Principle 4.4 of Schedule 1 of the Act provides that the collection of personal information must be limited to that which is necessary for the purposes identified by the organization. Principle 4.5.3 states that personal information that is no longer required to fulfil the identified purposes should be destroyed, erased or made anonymous.</div>
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36. Notwithstanding the fact that information collected by WhatsApp during its contact discovery process is limited, users should have the ability to manually add and manage contacts, rather than being compelled to provide their complete address books in the identification of other application users. At the time our investigation was initiated, WhatsApp required users to consent to the collection and use of all the phone numbers in their address books as a condition of service, rather than allowing a subscriber to use the individual phone number of the contact he or she wishes to correspond with.</div>
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37. Furthermore, since WhatsApp does not require the mobile numbers of non-users in order for the application to function, we recommended in our Preliminary Report that those numbers be destroyed immediately after their identification and classification as “out-of-network” numbers. While non-user numbers may be collected with a user's consent in the course of the application's contact discovery process, those numbers should not be retained by WhatsApp.</div>
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38. WhatsApp has instead implemented a procedure to render out-of-network numbers “anonymous”. Although our preference was to see those number deleted, according to WhatsApp, the collection and retention of both in-network and out-of-network numbers is necessary to facilitate the operation of its application.</div>
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39. In order to render out-of-network numbers anonymous, WhatsApp employs a cryptographic hashing technique which, in its view, renders the original value of out-of-network numbers difficult to determine. According to WhatsApp, this hashing process precludes the identification of non-users, providing subscribers of the service on the one hand with an effective mechanism to find new contacts, while on the other hand protecting the mobile numbers of non-users.</div>
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40. In the course of our investigation, we reviewed technical flowcharts and functional narratives supporting WhatsApp's anonymization process for out-of-network numbers. We also spoke with a member of WhatsApp's engineering team in an effort to better understand the underlying logic supporting the company's anonymization process.</div>
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41. Based on our review of the above process, we found that WhatsApp's treatment of out-of-network numbers was not an effective form of anonymization. True anonymity is only achieved where information can <em>never</em> be linked to an individual, either directly or indirectly. In our view, WhatsApp's use of all digits in an out-of-network phone number, coupled with a fixed salt value for the hash function, does not result in a true anonymization of out-of-network numbers. This is because the number could be recovered, with a modest amount of computing effort, if the out-of-network number database and salt value were breached. Indeed, simple test programs created by our technical experts showed that phone numbers could be recovered, once the salt is known, in under 3 minutes using a standard, low-power desktop computer. The fact that the phone numbers can be recovered – albeit through a data breach and some computing effort –means that the storage is not truly anonymous.</div>
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42. Furthermore, we note that re-submitting the same telephone number to the process will always result in the same value, so the company could adopt a practice (or be compelled) to reprocess a phone number and find it in their databases.</div>
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43. Although WhatsApp has stated that their treatment procedure will result in some overlap in attempts to recover out-of-network numbers (i.e., “intentional collisions”), making it possible that multiple numbers produce the same hashed results (and thus offering some privacy protection to non-users), the small amount of overlapping values does not, in our view, provide a sufficiently practical form of anonymity.</div>
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44. Although personal information collected by WhatsApp during the contact discovery process is appropriately limited to that necessary for legitimate purposes, as specified by WhatsApp in its Terms of Service, the company's retention of out-of-network numbers remains, in our view, unnecessary and may create the potential for inappropriate or unintended uses of non-user mobile numbers.</div>
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45. Based on the above, and whereas out-of-network numbers are being retained for longer than required for purposes of contact discover, we find concerns relating to the retention of non-user numbers to be <strong><a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/def_e.asp" style="color: #333333;">well founded</a></strong>.</div>
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46. Notwithstanding the above, further to recommendations in our Preliminary Report, WhatsApp now provides iPhone users with the option to manually add contacts, thus by-passing the application's contact discovery process. Our tests confirm that such functionality has now been built into its latest Apple iOS application (version 2.8.7). According to WhatsApp, the same functionality is to be integrated into its implementation plan for other operating systems, though the company could not provide us with a firm commitment date for that implementation.</div>
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Automatic sharing of status messages</h3>
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<em>Issue</em></h4>
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47. Based on a technical review of the application, our Office initiated a complaint to investigate whether WhatsApp was failing to obtain the knowledge and consent of individuals prior to disclosing their personal information, contrary to Principle 4.3 of Schedule 1 of the Act. More specifically, we investigated whether WhatsApp was broadcasting the “status updates” of its users to individuals the user may not know (or may not wish to share personal information with), without their knowledge and consent.</div>
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<em>Summary of Investigation</em></h4>
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48. WhatsApp allows its users to populate and share “user status submissions” (e.g., brief expressions of a user's state of mind, his or her location, and or opinion). In order to enter his or her status, a user must open the application's “Status” tab where he or she may input a personalized message or select one of several default status settings. Standard messages include “available”, “busy”, “at school”, “at work”, “sleeping”, “in a meeting”, and “urgent calls only”.</div>
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49. Personalized status submissions are limited to 139 characters. While a user's status field cannot be left blank (except for users of Apple's iPhone), it can be populated with random characters, punctuation or graphic illustrations (i.e., so called “emoticons”) so as to render the status message meaningless. Once the user has input his or her status submission, he or she is prompted to “save” the status or cancel its entry.</div>
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50. Once saved, a user's status submission is ready for broadcast. Except for the legal terms attached to user status submissions, as provided for in WhatsApp Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, no further prompts or instructions are provided to users prior to the broadcast of a status message.</div>
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51. In contrast to some social networking platforms which allow an individual to limit or control the broadcast of status submissions to only certain people, status messages shared using the WhatsApp messenger service are, by design, broadcast to all WhatsApp users who have the broadcasting user's telephone number in their contact list. As such, a sender may not have knowledge of the identity of all those application users who may be receiving or monitoring the sender's status messages. Any individual, whether for friendly or nefarious purposes, may track a user's status, so long as that individual has the message sender's telephone number.</div>
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52. At the time that our investigation was initiated, WhatsApp provided users with a lengthy explanation of the terms of use associated with user status submissions. WhatsApp disclosed the non-confidential nature of status submissions to all users in its Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, as follows:</div>
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<em>The WhatsApp Service permits the submission of status text and other communications submitted by you and other users.</em></div>
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<em>You understand that whether or not such User Status Submissions are published, WhatsApp does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any submissions.</em></div>
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<em>You shall be solely responsible for your own User Status Submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them.</em></div>
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<em>Any status content that you submit to the WhatsApp Sites may be redistributed through the internet and other media channels, and may be viewed by the general public.</em></div>
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53. According to WhatsApp, status updates are refreshed periodically over the course of a day. Where a user manually refreshes his or her contact list, the status update for that specific user's in-network list will also be updated.</div>
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54. Status messages are not shared with individuals who are blocked by the sender (i.e., individuals added to the user's “blocked contacts” list).</div>
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55. In addition to user defined status updates, WhatsApp may also provide “last seen” activity notifications to those listed in a subscriber's in-network. “Last seen” activity reflects the approximate time at which a user last used the application or otherwise brought the application to the foreground. Unlike the broadcast of user status submissions, the distribution or publication of last seen activity can be limited through a user's profile settings.</div>
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<em>Application of the Act</em></h4>
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56. In making our determination on this issue, we applied Principles 4.3, 4.3.2, 4.3.4 and 4.3.5 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Under Principle 4.3, the knowledge and consent of an individual are required for the collection, use or disclosure of personal information, except where inappropriate. Under Principle 4.3.2, in order make consent meaningful, the purposes for which personal information is to be used must be stated in such a manner that an individual can reasonably understand how the information will be used or disclosed.</div>
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57. Principle 4.3.4 speaks to the form of consent an organization must seek prior to the collection, use or disclosure of personal information. Recognizing that forms of consent may vary, Principle 4.3.4 requires that an organization take into account the sensitivity of the personal information in question. Principle 4.3.5 states that the reasonable expectations of the individual are also relevant in obtaining consent. Although some information is almost always considered sensitive, any information can be sensitive depending on the context.</div>
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58. In investigating the matter, we first considered whether or not a user's status submission constitutes “personal information” under the Act. As previously stated, subsection 2(1) of the Act defines personal information as information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.</div>
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59. Consistent with relevant jurisprudence, our Office is of the view that information will be about an “identifiable individual” where there is a serious possibility that an individual could be identified through the use of that information, alone or in combination with other information. Even subjective information about an individual may still be personal information, whether or not that information is held to be accurate.</div>
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60. We note further that information is still personal information even where it is publicly available within the meaning of the Act's regulations (though such information may be exempt from applicable consent requirements).</div>
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61. In keeping with the interpretation of personal information above, we believe that information contained in a user's status submission may constitute personal information. There are innumerable instances where a user may elect to share information about him or her self – whether location, opinion, the status of a relationship, or some other self-expression – and where such information, alone or in combination with other data, would render the individual identifiable.</div>
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62. Accepting that a user's status submission may constitute personal information, the Act requires that WhatsApp ensure and obtain the knowledge and consent of an individual prior to the collection, use or disclosure of that information. Consent must be meaningful and, whether implied or express, must bear in mind the potential sensitivity of the personal information in question and the reasonable expectations of the individual involved.</div>
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63. In the complaint at hand, our primary concern rests with the inability of the user to limit and control the broadcast of his or her status messages. While we accept that a user who chooses to supply personal information in his or her status submission is electing to share or broadcast that information with others, the unlimited or unknown dissemination of that information is not in our view within the reasonable expectations of the application user.</div>
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64. Bearing in mind the nature of the application – a peer to peer messaging platform, where users may only communicate with those listed in their private address books – we find it hard to believe that a user would consent to the sharing or broadcast of personal information beyond his or her contacts, and/or to application users unknown to him or her. While the application allows for the suppression of status broadcasts to individuals listed in a user's “blocked contact” list, that list can only be populated with individuals who the user knows.</div>
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65. Unlike some micro-blogging services, whose primary function is to enable both users and non-users to read or receive text-based messages through a range of services and platforms, WhatsApp's mobile messaging system (as described by WhatsApp itself) is first and foremost an SMS replacement. It allows for the instant communication of messages to targeted or specific individuals, as identified by the application user. While the application may also provide a user with the ability to more widely share personal expressions or status messages, it does so under the umbrella of peer to peer communications, conveying the general impression that such messages are being shared only with those people the user knows.</div>
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66. As explained in paragraph 51, WhatsApp does not allow for granular control over the distribution of status submissions. While the application is functionally capable of blocking users from receiving status messages (including “online” and “last seen” information), the effective use of the blocking feature requires a user to list or identify that person who he or she wishes to block. Doing so may not be possible however where the unwanted user is unknown to the message sender.</div>
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67. Given the above, and where status messages are likely to be seen as being shared only with specific and known recipients, we would have expected WhatsApp to have provided better notice of the potentially indiscriminate nature of status broadcasts.</div>
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68. Notwithstanding WhatsApp's efforts to describe status submissions as non-confidential, in our view, information pertaining to the application's status functionality was not (at the time our investigation was initiated) sufficiently clear and visible to users. Where the application's design precludes a user from limiting or controlling the dissemination of status messages, WhatsApp has a duty to ensure that users of status submissions are informed in the simplest and clearest terms that what they say on WhatsApp may be viewed by any and all WhatsApp users around the world instantly.</div>
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69. During the course of our investigation, WhatsApp amended its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to better inform users of the public nature of broadcast messages. As of September 2012, the Policy disclosed, in part, the following:</div>
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<em>Status Submissions…may be visible to other users of the Service who have your mobile phone number in their mobile phone and which you have not expressly blocked. For clarity…Status Submissions may be globally viewed by WhatsApp users that have your mobile phone number on their smartphone, unless the user is blocked by you.</em></div>
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<em>Currently, we have no method of providing different levels of visibility of your Status Submissions among users that have your mobile phone number – you acknowledge and agree that any Status Submissions may be globally viewed by users that have your mobile phone number, so don't submit or post status messages or profile photos that you don't want to be seen globally.</em></div>
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<em>A good rule of thumb is <span style="text-decoration: underline;">if you don't want the whole world to know something or see something, don't submit it as a Status Submission to the Service</span>…You understand that whether or not such Status Submissions are published, WhatsApp does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any submissions.</em> [our emphasis]</div>
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<em>Recommendation and Finding</em></h4>
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70. As previously noted, Principle 4.3.2 requires knowledge and consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. Notwithstanding recent efforts to update WhatsApp's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, in our view, further efforts are required to advise users of the potentially widespread or indiscriminate broadcast of personal information through status submissions.</div>
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71. Whereas WhatsApp's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy may not be readily available to users on mobile devices, and whereas WhatsApp is not yet able to avail its users with more granular control over the broadcast of status messages, in our Preliminary Report we recommended that WhatsApp provide real-time notification for broadcast messages. It is our view that real-time or active notification would allow for more meaningful consent for the broadcast of status submissions. We appreciate of course that, to avoid a disruption of application enjoyment, users should be given control over notification prompts and default settings.</div>
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72. In response to our recommendation, WhatsApp has stated that it has added real-time notification (e.g., pop-ups) for user status submissions to its future implementation plan. According to WhatsApp, real-time notification is to be integrated into future application releases beginning September 30, 2013.</div>
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73. Where WhatsApp has committed to advising users of the widespread dissemination of personal information through status submissions in its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and by way of real-time pop-ups, we find the complaint on the matter of the automatic sharing of status messages to be<strong><a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/def_e.asp" style="color: #333333;">well founded and conditionally resolved</a></strong>.</div>
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Offline storage of messages</h3>
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<em>Issue</em></h4>
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74. Based on a technical review of the application, our Office initiated a complaint to investigate whether WhatsApp was contravening the retention provisions of the Act. More specifically, we investigated whether WhatsApp did not have appropriate guidelines in place to govern the retention of undelivered messages, contrary to Principle 4.5.3 of Schedule 1 of the Act.</div>
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<em>Summary of Investigation</em></h4>
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75. Messages sent using the WhatsApp service are first transmitted to corporate servers co-located at secured facilities in Washington DC and Virginia using a subscriber's regular data service. Where the intended recipient is online, those messages are routed by WhatsApp to their designated addressee.</div>
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76. Delivered messages are not retained by WhatsApp. According to WhatsApp, the company does not maintain a record or archive of messages delivered. Records of delivered messages are saved only on the user's mobile device and may be deleted or retained by the user at will.</div>
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77. In cases where the intended recipient of a message is found to be off-line, messages sent to that recipient by other WhatsApp users are stored by WhatsApp, pending delivery. An undelivered message may be saved by WhatsApp for up to 30 days, after which the message is automatically deleted.</div>
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78. Messages not delivered are mapped to one of four server partitions. Within each partition, one file is reserved for each user. According to WhatsApp, silo ‘ing is controlled on a per user basis by nature of the operating system file. In its representations to our Office, WhatsApp confirmed that it limits its retention of undelivered messages to 30 days.</div>
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79. At the time our investigation was initiated, WhatsApp did not provide users with information relating to its retention policy for personal information, whether in its Terms of Service, Privacy Policy or Licensed Application End User License Agreement.</div>
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<em>Application of the Act</em></h4>
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80. In making our determination on this issue, we applied Principles 4.5.2, 4.5.3 and 4.8 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Principle 4.5.2 provides in part that organizations should develop guidelines and implement procedures with respect to the retention of personal information. These guidelines should include minimum and maximum retention periods. Principle 4.5.3 states in part that an organization shall develop guidelines and implement procedures with respect to the destruction of personal information. Under Principle 4.8, an organization is obliged to make specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information readily available.</div>
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81. Where messages may be archived or maintained by a user on his or her mobile device following delivery, and where communications between users are intended primarily for instant messaging, we find WhatsApp's retention period of 30 days for undelivered messages to be satisfactory in the circumstances.</div>
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82. Notwithstanding the above, we would have expected WhatsApp to have described its general retention policy for personal information in its Terms of Service, Privacy Policy or Licensed Application End User License Agreement. As required under Principle 4.8, individuals should be able to acquire information about an organization's policies and practices without unreasonable effort. As well, given that message delivery is central to WhatsApp's management of personal information, and in light of Principle 4.5.2, WhatsApp ought to have developed, implemented and communicated procedures for the retention and destruction of personal information contained therein.</div>
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<em>Recommendations and Finding</em></h4>
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83. In light of the above, we recommended in our Preliminary Report that WhatsApp develop guidelines and ensure the implementation of procedures with respect to the retention of personal information. We further recommended that WhatsApp make readily available to users information relating to WhatsApp's retention policy surrounding the off-line storage of messages.</div>
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84. In response to our recommendations, WhatsApp has committed to further develop its retention policy for personal information and to make the revised policy publicly available. WhatsApp has agreed to update and expand its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy by March 31, 2013 so as to provide better notification of those policies to its users.</div>
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85. Based on the above, we find the complaint on the matter of message retention to be <strong><a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/def_e.asp" style="color: #333333;">well founded and conditionally resolved</a></strong>.</div>
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Transmission security</h3>
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<em>Issue</em></h4>
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86. Based on a technical analysis of the application, our Office initiated a complaint to investigate whether WhatsApp was adequately protecting personal information, in contravention of Principle 4.7 of Schedule 1 of the Act. More specifically, it was alleged that messages sent and received using the WhatsApp service were not being encrypted, rendering personal information contained in such messages subject to eavesdropping or interception.</div>
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<em>Summary of Investigation</em></h4>
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87. As previously stated, WhatsApp's messaging system is intended to replace standard SMS. The application uses a mobile user's data service (rather than telephone service) to send and receive instant messages.</div>
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88. At the time that our investigation was initiated, messages sent using the application were not encrypted. As such, messages sent and received using the application ran the risk of interception, especially where a user elected to use the service through unprotected Wi-Fi networks.</div>
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89. In the course of our investigation we confirmed that messages sent between application users were not secure. Even in cases where data was sent over ports used for secure https (SSL/TLS) communications, personal data including the content of user messages and telephone numbers were clearly visible.</div>
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<em>Application of the Act</em></h4>
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90. In making our determination on this issue, we applied Principle 4.7 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Principle 4.7 requires that personal information be protected by security safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the information. Principle 4.7.1 provides that security safeguards must protect personal information against loss or theft, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification.</div>
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91. Recognizing that the contents of messages sent between application users may at times be sensitive personal information, we would have expected WhatsApp to have employed sufficient safeguards to ensure the security of those messages.</div>
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92. In its representations to our Office, WhatsApp confirmed that messages sent and received using the application were not being encrypted – affirming the need to introduce safeguards to ensure the security of instant messages and any other personal information attached to those messages.</div>
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93. In partial response to our concerns, in September 2012 WhatsApp began adding protocol encryption to its mobile messaging service. If properly applied, the end-to-end encryption would appropriately safeguard messages from eavesdropping or interception.</div>
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94. As at the time our investigation concluded, WhatsApp had implemented encryption for several devices, including Nokia's S40, Research in Motion's BlackBerry, Apple's iPhone, and all Windows and Android based phones.</div>
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<em>Recommendation and Finding</em></h4>
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95. Notwithstanding changes made by WhatsApp to encrypt user messages, in the course of our investigation we noted that WhatsApp was using the MAC addresses of iPhone devices to auto generate passwords for message exchanges with the WhatsApp service. On other mobile smart phones, the IMEI number of the phone was being used instead. MAC and IMEI numbers are identifiers that are unique to each phone and which are typically assigned by device manufacturers.</div>
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96. In light of the risks associated with the exposure of IMEI numbers and MAC addresses, and where methods of generating passwords using IMEI and MAC addresses are relatively well known, the use of the IMEI or MAC for the purpose of generating a password on behalf of the user does not, in our view, provide sufficient security for personal information exchanged using the WhatsApp service. According to our technical experts, this practice created a serious risk that a user's password could be replicated without authorization and that messages might be intercepted by a third party without the user's knowledge or consent.</div>
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97. Based on the above, in our Preliminary Report we recommended that WhatsApp develop new protocols for the creation of encryption passwords for iPhone devices. In response to our recommendation, WhatsApp has stopped using IMEI and MAC numbers for authentication on all mobile platforms. WhatsApp has stated that the application is now using a 160-bit randomly generated key.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
98. In order to confirm the implementation of the newly developed password process, we reviewed technical flowcharts and functional narratives supporting WhatsApp's authentication process. We also reviewed and studied real examples of that process with the assistance of technical experts. Our goal was to understand how the underlying logic supporting authentication worked so as to assess whether or not the process, as designed by WhatsApp, was sufficiently safeguarding personal information.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
99. Based on the results of our investigation, and as at the time that our investigative work ended, the security safeguards employed by WhatsApp appeared to be commensurate with the sensitivity of personal information at risk. As such, we find the complaint on the matter of transmission security to be <strong><a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/def_e.asp" style="color: #333333;">well founded and resolved</a></strong>. We nonetheless encourage WhatsApp to remain vigilant when protecting personal information in light of a constantly changing threat environment.</div>
<h3 style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; margin: 1em 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
Data retention and account termination</h3>
<h4 style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 1em 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<em>Issue</em></h4>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
100. Based on a technical review of the application, our Office initiated a complaint to investigate whether WhatsApp was retaining the personal information of its users following account deactivation, contrary to Principle 4.5 of Schedule 1 of the Act. More specifically, we investigated whether WhatsApp continued to retain the personal information of its users even where the application had been uninstalled.</div>
<h4 style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 1em 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<em>Summary of Investigation</em></h4>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
101. At the time our investigation was initiated, both technical and user reviews of the application alleged that WhatsApp was retaining the personal information of subscribers subsequent to the removal of the messenger service from their mobile devices.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
102. According to these reviews, in order to have their personal information deleted, users were required to notify WhatsApp of their request by email. These procedures, often onerous, were not publicly available, whether in WhatsApp's frequently asked questions document, or in WhatsApp's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.</div>
<h4 style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 1em 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<em>Application of the Act</em></h4>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
103. In making our determination on this issue, we applied Principles 4.5.2, 4.5.3 and 4.8 of Schedule 1 of the Act. Principle 4.5.2 states in part that an organization should develop guidelines and implement procedures with respect to the retention of personal information. These guidelines should include minimum and maximum retention periods. Principle 4.5.3 states in part that an organization shall develop guidelines and implement procedures with respect to the destruction of personal information. Under Principle 4.8, an organization must make specific information about its policies and practices relating to the management of personal information readily available.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
104. As previously discussed, messages delivered using the WhatsApp service are not retained by WhatsApp. Only undelivered message are saved by WhatsApp, and then only for 30 days pending delivery, after which time such messages are automatically deleted.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
105. Further to the above, it is WhatsApp's policy to delete or destroy all personal information belonging to a user, including any applicable payment information, 30 days after termination of the service. According to WhatsApp, the retention of billing information, if any, for 30 days after termination is to provide users with a short period of time for ease of renewals or registration. After the 30-day period post account expiry, a user may sign up again for WhatsApp's service, but will have to go through the registration process anew.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
106. An exception to WhatsApp's 30-day retention period exists where an individual uses the application for a one year free trial period and fails to subscribe as a paying user. Where a trial user elects not to renew his or her subscription following one year of service, select personal information of that individual (including the trial user's name, telephone number, and account type) may be retained for up to one year. According to WhatsApp, this information is retained so as to ensure that a trial user cannot re-subscribe for a successive free trial period.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
107. While we find WhatsApp's retention guidelines for personal information to be satisfactory on the whole, once again we would have expected WhatsApp to have described its retention policy for personal information in its Privacy Policy or other readily accessible documentation.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
108. As required under Principle 4.8, individuals should be able to acquire information about an organization's policies and practices without unreasonable effort. Where data retention is central to WhatsApp's management of personal information, WhatsApp ought to have developed, implemented and communicated procedures for the retention and destruction of personal information.</div>
<h4 style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin: 1em 0px; padding-top: 5px;">
<em>Recommendations and Finding</em></h4>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
109. Based on the above, in our Preliminary Report we recommended that WhatsApp develop guidelines and ensure the implementation of procedures with respect to the retention and destruction of personal information. We further recommended that WhatsApp make readily available to users information relating to WhatsApp's retention policy for personal data.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
110. As previously stated, in response to our recommendations, WhatsApp has committed to further developing its retention policy for personal information and to making this policy publically available. WhatsApp has agreed to update and expand its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy by March 31, 2013 so as to provide better notification of those policies to its users.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
111. Based on the above, we find the complaint on the matter of user data retention to be <strong><a href="http://www.priv.gc.ca/cf-dc/def_e.asp" style="color: #333333;">well founded and conditionally resolved</a></strong>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-78703054211482214832014-03-06T23:59:00.001-05:002014-03-06T23:59:15.370-05:00Privacy Paternalism - EPIC's FTC Complaint against Facebook's Acquisition of WhatsApp<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Not all privacy lawyers or advocates always agree. This is one of those times. A well-respected privacy advocacy/watchdog group filed a complaint before the FTC in the US to stop FB's acquisition of WhatsApp.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They allege that Facebook's use of users' data would fly in the face of WhatsApp's pro-privacy approach.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;">EPIC has filed a </span><a href="http://epic.org/ftc/WhatsApp-Complaint.pdf" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;">complaint</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"> to the Federal Trade Commission concerning Facebook's proposed purchase of WhatsApp.</span><a href="http://www.whatsapp.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">WhatsApp</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"> is a messaging service that gained popularity based on its strong pro-privacy approach to user data. WhatsApp currently has 450 million active users, </span><a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-users-threaten-to-delete-whatsapp-20140219,0,4153795.story#axzz2v7TZZFCR" style="background-color: white; color: #003399; line-height: 14px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">many of whom have objected to the proposed acquisition</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;">. Facebook regularly incorporates data from companies it has acquired." (from EPIC's announcement page)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">EPIC states that the FTC has "looked favorably" on its prior complaints against industry leaders, such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook. It has, but not in the way implied. The FTC has never stopped an acquisition based on the fear that the purchaser might change an acquisition's privacy practices.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To ask them to do so now doesn't make sense. And it is disrespectful to users who can make choices and vote by the dollars. EPIC shouldn't decide what data collection and use practices WhatsApp should have, as long as they don't violate existing applicable law. And these don't.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Anything else is Privacy Paternalism.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">EPIC stated that WhatsApp is pro-privacy. It is. The Canadian Office of the Privacy Commissioner investigated them and concluded that WhatsApp could improve its privacy practices, which it voluntarily did. They collect only what they need, and often discard that after use.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The are also anti-advertising, ad free, and say that they hope to keep it that way forever.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">At the same time, they reserve the right to change the terms of service at any time, which includes their privacy notice which is entirely incorporated into its terms of service.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">To do that, they must provide notice of any changes and users must agree to those changes or stop using the service.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If users don't like the Facebook acquisition or don't like any changes made to them after the acquisition, they can use a different mobile messaging app. They can do what consumers always do, vote with their dollars.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">There are many choices available to users - how they want their data collected and used and which provider they want to use based on the foregoing.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Facebook wants value for the $19 billion. It is highly unlikely that it intends to alienate the hundreds of millions of users WhatsApp has.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you're not sure what to think, read what I set forth below. The policies are clear and explain it all in a way all users can understand. And all users accepted.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">While few people ever read the terms of service or privacy policies, I have collected the relevant provisions from each and pasted them below.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<b><span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Relevant Provisions from WhatsApp Current Terms of Service and
Privacy Notice (March 6, 2014)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<b><span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">(selected by Parry Aftab, Esq.)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 4;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10. Assignment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.25pt;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These Terms of
Service, and any rights and licenses granted hereunder, may not be transferred
or assigned by you, but may be assigned by WhatsApp without restriction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Privacy Notice:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">This Privacy Policy is
incorporated into and is subject to the WhatsApp Terms of Service. Your use of
the WhatsApp Site, WhatsApp Software and the WhatsApp Service and any personal
information you provide on the WhatsApp Site or WhatsApp Service remains subject
to the terms of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4 style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">What
Does This Privacy Policy Cover?<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">This Privacy Policy is part
of WhatsApp’s Terms of Service and covers the treatment of user information,
including personally identifying information, obtained by WhatsApp, including
information obtained when you access the WhatsApp’s Site, use the WhatsApp
Service or any other software provided by WhatsApp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4 style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">The
Information WhatsApp Does Not Collect<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">WhatsApp does not collect
names, emails, addresses or other contact information from its users’ mobile
address book or contact lists other than mobile phone numbers—the WhatsApp
mobile application will associate whatever name the WhatsApp user has assigned
to the mobile telephone number in his/her mobile address book or contact list —
and this occurs dynamically on the mobile device itself and not on WhatsApp’s
servers and is not transmitted to WhatsApp. This means that if you have your
friend’s mobile phone number associated with the name “Shakespeare” in your
mobile address book, that’s the name that will appear for that mobile phone
number in your WhatsApp contact list. We do not collect location data, but
users may voluntarily share their location with other users via the WhatsApp
Service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">The contents of messages
that have been delivered by the WhatsApp Service are not copied, kept or
archived by WhatsApp in the normal course of business. The WhatsApp Service is
meant to be a SMS replacement, using data service through a user’s phone
(either via cell network or wifi). Users type their messages, which are sent
via data service to our servers, and routed to the intended recipient (who must
also be a WhatsApp user), if that recipient is online. If the recipient is not
online, the undelivered message is held in WhatsApp’s server until it can be
delivered. If the message is undelivered for thirty (30) days, the undelivered
message is deleted from our servers. Once a message has been delivered, it no
longer resides on our servers. The contents of any delivered messages are not
kept or retained by WhatsApp — the only records of the content of any delivered
messages reside directly on the sender’s and recipient’s mobile devices (and
which may be deleted at the user’s option). Notwithstanding the above, WhatsApp
may retain date and time stamp information associated with successfully
delivered messages and the mobile phone numbers involved in the messages, as
well as any other information which WhatsApp is legally compelled to collect.
Files that are sent through the WhatsApp Service will reside on our servers
after delivery for a short period of time, but are deleted and stripped of any
identifiable information within a short period of time in accordance with our
general retention policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4 style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">Third-party
Advertisers, Links to Other Sites<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 16.4pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">We
are<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://blog.whatsapp.com/?p=245"><span style="color: #40a9d8; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">not fans of advertising</span></a><span style="color: #32373b; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.5pt;">.
WhatsApp is currently ad-free and we hope to keep it that way forever. We have
no intention to introduce advertisement into the product, but if we ever do,
will update this section.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: #32373b;">In the Event of Merger, Sale, or Bankruptcy<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: #32373b;">In the event that WhatsApp
is acquired by or merged with a third party entity, we reserve the right to
transfer or assign the information we have collected from our users as part of
such merger, acquisition, sale, or other change of control. In the (hopefully)
unlikely event of our bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, or
assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the application of laws or
equitable principles affecting creditors' rights generally, we may not be able
to control how your personal information is treated, transferred, or used.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4 style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: #32373b;">Changes and updates to this Privacy Notice<o:p></o:p></span></h4>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: #32373b;">This Privacy Policy may be
revised periodically and this will be reflected by the "effective
date" below. Please revisit this page to stay aware of any changes. Your
continued use of the WhatsApp Site and WhatsApp Service constitutes your
agreement to this Privacy Policy and any amendments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: #32373b;">Date Last Modified:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 14.25pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: #32373b;">This Privacy Notice was
last modified July 7th, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-17233343329699594362014-03-04T08:36:00.000-05:002014-03-04T08:36:11.018-05:00The Care and Feeding of Advisory Boards – From the Advisor’s Perspective Part 5<div class="MsoNormal">
It is important to take these roles seriously. I limit my
advisory board seats and carefully define the expectations on both sides. I
make sure that I am connected to the company and that it fits with my own
professional and personal strategic plans. Companies I work with have learned
that I am more likely to accept a role if peoples’ lives are improved by the
services, products or offerings of the company (for-profit, social
entrepreneurship or non-profit).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I think the company has merit, but is not a good fit for
me personally, I may recommend and help recruit someone else for that role. I
also let them know that if things change, and I feel that my time is not being
valued or no longer believe in the company’s vision or practices, I will
resign.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I need to know whom else is on the advisory board or whom
else will be asked. Do existing members have a say about any new or replacement
members? How big is the board? Is it big enough that we aren’t imposed upon
more than is fair and still small enough that our voice is heard?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I ask how often we are expected to attend f2f meetings. How
much prep work there will be before a meeting and follow-up after those
meetings. How many time should I be expected to attend conference calls or
review documentation. How much am I expected to learn about the business
operations of the company? How do we interact, if at all, with the board of
directors or CEO?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How will my sitting on an advisory board affect my ability
to consult for or provide legal advice for a competitor or anyone else in the
same or similar space? Am I insured or indemnified for any liability resulting
from my role as an advisory board member? Am I compensated? Do I receive stock
options or equity? Is there an honorarium? A donation to my charity, in lieu of
an honorarium? Are my travel expenses covered? Are other expenses covered? Are
all members compensated equally? If not, are all aware of any unequal
compensation packages?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Is there a point person to help manage our communications or
are we on our own? Is there someone to help us navigate our way around the
company and get us information when I need it?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bottomline, I say yes to companies and people I like. A very
high consulting fee may get my attention in the short term, but if I don’t
trust the company or management or my fellow board members, I’m gone as soon as
the contract ends. I will help a friend if I think they really need my help and
don’t waste my time. And I will devote myself to causes and NGOs who make a
difference and value my contribution.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I suspect, others do
the same.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-18427405422073292162014-03-04T08:29:00.001-05:002014-03-04T08:29:30.688-05:00The Care and Feeding of An Advisory Board – The Good, the Bad and the What Were They Thinking? Part 4<div class="MsoNormal">
I sit and have sat on many high powered advisory boards and,
aside from my own companies, one high-powered board of directors. My role or
Facebook and MTV is different than my role with McAfee, Trustee or the Ad
Council, which in turn is different from my role with Children’s Television
Workshop.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes the advisory board I am joining has been up and
running for years. But often, I was the first member or asked to set it up for
the company as well as serving as chair. But, in each case the conversation needs
to focus on why the company wants the advisory board, what we are expected to
do and how we are expected to do it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have had some disastrous experiences with middle
management appointed to oversee the board and our suggestions being above their
pay grade. Once I had a middle manager who passed off our ideas as his
own. I have had some riddled with egos
and personal agendas that weren’t worth the angst. But, have had many more that were managed
right and used my time and expertise with respect.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been well-compensated and I have served without
charge. In a couple cases, I even covered my own expenses. (These are boards
for non-profits.) Some take tons of time, and the others seem to just want my
name on a list.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I receive on average, one advisory board or board of
directors offer a week. Some companies, especially start-ups, pass these out
like candy. Sometimes they saw me on Dr. Phil, the Today Show, GMA or CNN. They
may have read an article by or about me in a newspaper, or heard about an award
I received. Sometimes we meet at a conference or at a cocktail party. They are
looking for “names,” however they define them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am nice about it, but explain
that I am limited in my advisory roles and thank them for asking. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, I write them off for anything serious. Their reaching
out to me when they know nothing more than a headline is bad management. And
bad management and strategic planning rarely succeeds in the long term.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-88953716382901490772014-03-04T08:25:00.000-05:002014-03-04T08:25:29.620-05:00Care and Feeding of Advisory Board Members - Controlling Media. Communications and Information Part 3<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are looking to redeem your reputation or build a new
one, and have selected advisory board members to do that, communications and
media will be very important. When and how can you use advisory board members’
names? Will there be a media alert or press release announcing their addition
to the board? Is the advisory board member expected or invited to do media
interviews on the company’s behalf. Are they prohibited or discouraged from
doing interview when the company is involved? How are they supposed to
introduce themselves or disavow formal spokesperson capacity?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is crucial, if the company has selected a member to help
support its reputation that the advisory board member not be seen as bought or
harnessed. That’s where a solid alignment and ongoing trust between the members
and the company are essential. The relationship must be credible. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In some cases, having a honest naysayer in a limited
advisory board role may be warranted. Watchdog groups are sometimes tapped to
play an oversight role within an advisory board. But, be careful of hidden or
political agendas. Some groups may get more attention and improve funding by
appearing to leave the board in protest against the company. Even when asked to
leave, they may spread rumors that they left voluntarily. Little is gained by
the company announcing that they have terminated an advisory board member.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How much information should be shared with the board? While
there are critical fiduciary rules that apply to boards of directors, there are
no similar legal restrictions for advisory boards. They are creatures of
business, not law. That means that any non-disclosure, non-compete and
non-circumvention agreements must be entered into. But this can be tricky.
Don’t want to be seen as buying off watchdog groups or honest criticism? Gag
agreements may give the wrong impression.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, given the high profile of a typical advisory board
member, structuring a non-compete, non-circumvention and non-disclosure
agreement that doesn’t cripple the board member’s activities where they can be
helpful to the company and acceptable to the member is a challenge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
You brought them in for their ideas. But their ideas have
earned them well-respected reputations and attention. Can you really expect
them to share lucrative ideas and use valuable connections to help the company,
instead of themselves? That’s why ascertaining their alignment and loyalty and
repaying it in kind is so important.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-82282219005510758192014-03-04T08:21:00.000-05:002014-03-04T08:21:34.540-05:00The Care and Feeding of Advisory Boards – SWOT Selection Part 2<div class="MsoNormal">
SWOT. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. We
all use this or some form of this when deciding on business strategies or
investments. But, how many of us use this when choosing an advisory board?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each advisory board member should address the weaknesses or
threats, or further expand the strengths and opportunities. Perhaps some
address one and others address the others, but each SWOT item should generally
be represented. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you looking to change your reputation? Want a warm and
fuzzy rep? Choose the kings and queens of warm and fuzzy. Looking to expand
through M&A? Who has deep networks where you want to acquire? A problem
with street-cred? Appoint those with street-cred. Going public, looking for new
markets, need some heavy duty loans, or having problems with a particular
stakeholder group?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Are you hoping to be able to stave off threats by bolstering
your team with an advisory board? Seeking new opportunities that the board can
help you access more effectively?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, just showing off your ability to gather big names
for your board is what you are hoping to achieve. And sometimes the members
want to show off their ability to attract board positions with big name
providers. The advisory board benefits have to be mutual to work. And that
mutuality has to be carefully nurtured and maintained. The moment one or the
other feels that they are being mistreated or undervalued, things can go south,
fast!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-45733607490067859602014-03-04T08:17:00.001-05:002014-03-04T08:17:56.036-05:00The Care and Feeding of Advisory Board Members Part 1<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Why are you considering creating an advisory
board? Is it to add expertise? To provide air cover by letting their
reputations speak for yours? Do your competitors have advisory boards of their
own? Is it to better understand your important markets or stakeholders? Is it
for good will? Or media attention?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
If you are serious about having one, make
sure that you have clear goals, articulate those goals and get your prospective
members to commit to those goals. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Is your goal worth it? There is a cost to
developing and maintaining an advisory board. Compensation is an obvious cost,
as are stock grants or options. But other costs aren’t so obvious. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
There are opportunity costs. For every
advisory board member you appoint, there is one that you didn’t. This may
involve hurt feelings and the possibility that the ones you passed over may not
be there when you need them. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Political scrabbles are a cost as well.
Working with advisory board members can be like herding cats. Each has their
own perspective, experience and agendas. When you hire people like this, you
have better control over them than you do when they are asked to contribute
their brand, networks, media clout and reputation outside of their fulltime
work.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Scheduling is always a challenge. The
busier and more important your board members, the harder to schedule a time
when they can all meet face-to-face. Virtual meetings can be scheduled instead,
but are rarely good to real advice, sharing of ideas or directions. Email
communications are too often handled by handlers, not the person who holds the
seat. But real life meetings put enough strain on the already overburdened
schedule of the top choices for advisory boards that the preferred appointees
may not be able to commit.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Your managers will devote substantial time
to informing the advisory board, getting their input and developing
communications. Can anyone reach out to an advisory board member, or are they
managed by a department, division or person? There are manpower and structural
hard costs for creating a system and adhering to it. Legal and compliance teams
have to be involved in creating the policies for the advisory board members and
the board itself. Conflict-of-interest policies, indemnification terms and
insurance coverage should be considered and, if appropriate, adopted.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
More to follow…</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-61544444724176789232014-03-02T15:07:00.001-05:002014-03-02T15:07:56.005-05:00The Care and Feeding of Advisory Board Members Part 1<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Why are you considering creating an advisory
board? Is it to add expertise? To provide air cover by letting their
reputations speak for yours? Do your competitors have advisory boards of their
own? Is it to better understand your important markets or stakeholders? Is it
for good will? Or media attention?</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
If you are serious about having one, make
sure that you have clear goals, articulate those goals and get your prospective
members to commit to those goals. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Is your goal worth it? There is a cost to
developing and maintaining an advisory board. Compensation is an obvious cost,
as are stock grants or options. But other costs aren’t so obvious. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
There are opportunity costs. For every
advisory board member you appoint, there is one that you didn’t. This may
involve hurt feelings and the possibility that the ones you passed over may not
be there when you need them. </div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Political scrabbles are a cost as well.
Working with advisory board members can be like herding cats. Each has their
own perspective, experience and agendas. When you hire people like this, you
have better control over them than you do when they are asked to contribute
their brand, networks, media clout and reputation outside of their fulltime
work.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Scheduling is always a challenge. The
busier and more important your board members, the harder to schedule a time
when they can all meet face-to-face. Virtual meetings can be scheduled instead,
but are rarely good to real advice, sharing of ideas or directions. Email
communications are too often handled by handlers, not the person who holds the
seat. But real life meetings put enough strain on the already overburdened
schedule of the top choices for advisory boards that the preferred appointees
may not be able to commit.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
Your managers will devote substantial time
to informing the advisory board, getting their input and developing
communications. Can anyone reach out to an advisory board member, or are they
managed by a department, division or person? There are manpower and structural
hard costs for creating a system and adhering to it. Legal and compliance teams
have to be involved in creating the policies for the advisory board members and
the board itself. Conflict-of-interest policies, indemnification terms and
insurance coverage should be considered and, if appropriate, adopted.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
More to follow…</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-67723093581114976512014-03-02T09:29:00.000-05:002014-03-02T09:29:11.037-05:00Prepare for a Parry Rant on PPl Getting Little Pony Tattoos to Combat Bullying<div class="MsoPlainText">
I tweeted a link to a news story about the crowds of ppl getting "My Little Pony" tattoos to take a stand against bullying. They got the idea after hearing about a boy who was bullied for watching My Little Pony. (can get the link at @parryaftab on Twitter)</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Now the rant part.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
I am delighted that ppl are listening and want to do something to stop bullying of all kinds. It is commendable that so many ppl are caring and want to show how much they care. But a tattoo? Really?</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Hundreds of thousands of young ppl are bullied or cyberbullied. They are all feeling pain. They all need a friendly voice, support and a place to turn. We need to spread better awareness and teach everyone how they can take steps to help. There are helplines, websites, Facebook pages (ours is <a href="http://facebook.com/stopcyberbullying">facebook.com/stopcyberbullying</a>) There are in-school programs. There are charities and educational programs. All of these need funding, sponsorship and in-kind help.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
Write a song, perform Rap, paint a picture or draw one, write a speech, deliver one, sing, dance, speak out. Show your support by changing your status on FB, tweeting and linking in. contact your local TV network or newspaper and start a rally. Reach out to someone you know who needs you.</div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
It's nice to make an effort to show support. The Pink Shirt campaign started in #novascotia was built on that. But if you do more than show support, you give support in the best way you can, you may move the needle a bit. </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
We need help knowing what to do. Let's find ways to do things that are effective, together and finally stop bullying and stopcyberbullying. Don't show your tattoo, show your support! </div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-1633989487617731422014-03-01T23:03:00.000-05:002014-03-01T23:03:14.481-05:00Authenticating Your Brand Agents, Digital Brand Best Practices Part2<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To makes sure that the
network’s moderators are easily identified and others do not try to pose as
them to abuse other users, moderators who are visible on the network should be
easily identified. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">You can do this using special avatars, screen names or other
identifiers. Or, you can institute s verification application where any user
can click on a moderator’s screen name or avatar to have them authenticated by
the network (“Mod65 is one of X network’s moderation team”). Those who pose as
moderators will not be verified.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">When well-meaning users adopt
officially-sounding IDs or use your logos in their avatars it only creates
problem. If they know enough to be truly
helpful and otherwise meet the qualifications you may establish for volunteers,
you can respond to your helpful users by making them official. Otherwise, you may want to police the use of
any logo, ID, avatar or game tag that gives the impression that anyone other
than your authorized representatives are more than an ordinary user. You can
get your users involved in helping by asking them to report others posing as
moderators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A network should find a way
to institutionalize positions and roles instead of letting your moderators be
identified by their own names and accounts.
Although it could be helpful to let your moderators to develop friendly
relationships with your users, because it created a more trusted “one of us”
environment between users and moderators, it is often not a good idea to
promote risk-manager personalities for several reasons. While it works with start-ups, sometimes, it
doesn’t scale. If the person leaves your
network, it can be upsetting to users who learned to rely on that individual
instead of your network as a whole. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">How visible do you want your
moderators to be on your network?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Look at your network from the users’
perspective. You can find ways to make it helpful for your users to find a
moderator on the network when they need them. (They may be more comfortable in
some settings to be able to flag them down like a passing police car, while in other cases they would prefer never to see a
moderator.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Determine what your moderation staff should look like online. Obvious? Inconspicuous? Ask your users which
makes them more comfortable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">If you've been in business for awhile and now expanding and professionalizing, you may get push-back from
your early moderators, since many want to be recognized or in cases where they
have been active under their own names for a longer period of time, have
built-up trusted reputations online using their own names or game tags and may
not be willing to retire those names. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">To
address this, you may want to create bio pages for your more popular moderators
and customer service staff members and for senior moderation and customer
service managers. But be aware that the
more information you post or allow to be shared about your staff, the more
vulnerable they are to trolls and offline harassers. Weigh this suggestion carefully and make sure
your team understands how to protect themselves online and offline if you elect
to make them more accessible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">When considering this option,
recognize that when someone is terminated by you and served in moderation
capacity and their internal access is terminated, nothing may prevent them from
remaining on as a user, continuing to use their own name (the same name that
has been in use as a moderator). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">They
remain cloaked with apparent authority from you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In addition, the resignation or termination
of customer service staff who are “trusted brands” of their own on your network
can create disruption with users and other third-parties. It also makes them more valuable commodities
to your competitors, since many have their own following. The best method of countering these risks is
by institutionalizing their roles as a moderator. This applies equally to volunteers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Decide if they may identify
themselves on other networks as an employee or agent of yours.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Parry%20Ultra-Book/Documents/articles/Understanding%20Your%20Best%20Practice%20Choices.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> Allowing your employees and agents to
identify themselves as such on other networks and elsewhere online makes it
much more difficult to police the association severance. It invites help inquiries on other networks. It's risky with no upside for you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">If you determine that your personnel and
agents may not identify themselves as such online, other than in an approved
manner on your networks, ask them to remove all references that already
exist. Run Google, Bing, Facebook and
Yahoo! searches for their online names or game tags to make sure they have not
missed any references.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Parry%20Ultra-Book/Documents/articles/Understanding%20Your%20Best%20Practice%20Choices.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Parry Aftab has consistently advised against allowing employees or agents to
identify themselves online as a moderator or customer service
representative. Her volunteers at
WiredSafety, with few exceptions, are not permitted to identify themselves
outside of their own channels, to others online. It encourages posers to
pretend to be WiredSafety volunteers and threaten users or alienate the
moderators on other networks.</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-72840234569843592852014-03-01T22:21:00.000-05:002014-03-01T22:21:12.163-05:00Relevant Best Practices – Protecting Your Brand Part 1<h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Protecting your brand
protects your users, advertisers, personnel, strategic partners, sponsors and
yourself. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If you do not take adequate
steps to protect your brand, others will be able to use it against you. They
may pretend to be you or one of your moderators, counterfeit pages, goods,
points, cheats and coding schemes will be promoted and attributed to you, your
founder(s), senior executives and spokespeople will be harassed, trolled or
have their identities stolen or manipulated online, and your brand will be
diluted. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc137641514"></a></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Avoiding confusion about your
messaging, branding, the authority of third parties and protecting your
reputation are paramount. You will be
quickly blamed if someone poses as you. Nasty rumors will be more credible if posted
online, using one of your brands. Furthermore, small news stories can become
big ones if you are not watching what others are saying about you and being
responsive to inquiries in the right way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc137641515"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc263766629">Identifying and Policing Your Brand Agents</a>:</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Your logos and your brand
names define you online. You have to
control their use, make it clear when someone is authorized to use your brand
or logo and in what capacity and watch what others are saying about you. There
are several choices you have to make, some are easy while others involve
extensive analysis on costs of design and implementation, maintenance and how
those choices affect your growth, your reputation and your users.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h3>
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc137641516"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_Toc263766630">Your Official Brand Agents</a>:</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Your spokespeople, customer
service staff and your moderators are your outward facing official brand agents
online. They must be authenticated (so
you know who they are), easily identified by your users and protected from
others posing as them (whether they are trying to be helpful or hurtful). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">There are typically two major
roles played by personnel engaged by the company to handle interactions with
users. One relates to business functions while the other relates to community
policing functions. In smaller and start-up networks, the roles may be combined
in the handful of customer service/moderation personnel they engage. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In larger
networks, many of which outsource at least a portion of their customer
service/moderation needs, companies use different terms to define those acting
in online customer support and site moderation. These typically include titles such
as “customer service representatives,” “monitors” and “moderators.” Sometimes,
when large groups of customer service/moderation staff are engaged, the
supervisors or escalation personnel are identified as “Super Mods” or “Team
Leaders.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Many companies engaged in
ecommerce as well as community networks define “customer service
representatives” as those who address lost passwords, online orders and shipping,
warranty inquiries, etc. They reserve the term “moderators” for those who
police the networks for terms of service violations and respond to abuse
reports by users. This can often be helpful, as different skills may be
required for different roles. In an online gaming environment, moderators are
gamers and can address inquiries relating to the game itself. They may not
understand shipping methods or costs or confirm credit card details. Volunteers
who are experienced users can sometimes fulfill the moderator roles (subject to
stringent risk management guidelines, see Parry's “Working with Volunteers”) but would
never be used to process payments or handle ecommerce complaints.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Call center providers can
often handle the customer service roles cost effectively, but would not be able
to police the network for lewd language, terms of service violations or
cybercriminal behavior. Your customer service staff needs are easy to spot,
since users will quickly complain if on hold for too long or they find your
customer service staff to be unresponsive. They “vote” with their dollars. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">You
may find an increase in charge-backs, cancelled and un-renewed accounts and
customer complaints. There are many professionals who advise on ratio of
customer service personnel to purchasers, the best hours to deploy larger
groups of personnel and technology tools designed to delivered customer service
support more efficiently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-75878577339034115632014-02-22T22:49:00.000-05:002014-02-22T22:49:24.593-05:00Lots from Macau, Hong Kong and Italy today joining the recent mix of international readers.欢迎 歡迎 bem-vindo benvenuto welcome<br />
and thank you!<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-74852879985989855392014-02-22T17:09:00.000-05:002014-02-22T17:09:16.949-05:00Users today, so far (rounded to the nearest ten). Interesting to see Russian readers so high. Olympic tourists? or Russians?<table __gwtcellbasedwidgetimpldispatchingblur="true" __gwtcellbasedwidgetimpldispatchingfocus="true" cellspacing="0" class="GFPUSQ2A1" style="border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; height: 32px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 345px;"><tbody style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<tr __gwt_row="0" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J- GFPUSQ2A0 GFPUSQ2D0" style="background-color: #ffffcc; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2L- GFPUSQ2B0 GFPUSQ2C0 GFPUSQ2E0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(215, 221, 232); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" tabindex="0">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
United States</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2F0 GFPUSQ2B0 GFPUSQ2E0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 204); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
2330</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="1" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J0" style="background-color: #f3f7fb; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
Russia</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
380</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="2" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J-" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
Ukraine</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
210</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="3" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J0" style="background-color: #f3f7fb; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
Canada</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
200</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="4" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J-" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
Poland</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
200</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="5" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J0" style="background-color: #f3f7fb; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
Moldova</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
150</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="6" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J-" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
France</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
120</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="7" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J0" style="background-color: #f3f7fb; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
China</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
110</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="8" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J-" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
Slovenia</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K- GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
110</div>
</td></tr>
<tr __gwt_row="9" __gwt_subrow="0" class="GFPUSQ2J0" style="background-color: #f3f7fb; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2L-" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-278" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<div class="GFPUSQ2EO" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-overflow: ellipsis; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap; width: 220px;">
United Kingdom</div>
<div style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
</div>
</div>
</td><td class="GFPUSQ2I- GFPUSQ2K0 GFPUSQ2F0" style="border: 2px solid rgb(243, 247, 251); font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 2px 15px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div __gwt_cell="cell-gwt-uid-279" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
50</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-87314571997474671972014-02-21T22:14:00.000-05:002014-02-21T22:14:30.580-05:00The Role of Guidance Counselors and Mental Health Professionals in Addressing Cyberbullying<h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Cyberbullying is a mental health issue, a lack of Internet literacy and
technology skills issue, and a lack of impulse control, coupled with boredom,
easy access to technology, and the need for their 15 megabytes of fame. All
have to be addressed to prevent cyberbullying.</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But once it starts, the most crucial professionals are the guidance
counselor and mental health professionals. They are the only ones capable of
putting the target humpty-dumpty back together again. They are the only ones
able to get peer counselors to step in and help put out the raging
cyberbullying fires that were set across the Internet. They can prevent serious
emotional scarring and keep students from seeing despair so deep that suicide
looks like an option.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parry’s chiropractor told her that unless you treat whiplash within the
first 36 hours, the physical damage can be both painful and permanent. But
early treatment can relieve the pain and prevent serious physical damage. The
pain of being targeted by others in your class or school, a former best friend,
or boyfriend/girlfriend is often too hard to bear alone. Yet, students are
fearful or are embarrassed to share their plight. Gentle support and understanding
can be perhaps even more valuable than treating whiplash in the first day and a
half. If handled right, the target will be able to eventually put this in
perspective. If mishandled, there will be scars for life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suicides are increasing. We can no longer sit back and tell them that
“sticks and stones will break their bones, but words will never hurt them”—they
know better. Words do hurt and can wound them deeply and permanently.
Cyberbullying doesn’t make them stronger. It hurts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unless the guidance counselors and mental health professionals are
willing to step forward and lead in framing solutions to the problem as a whole
and to each victim of cyberbullying, we are all lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We’re counting on you! Don’t let us down.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-91102603367276862522014-02-21T21:54:00.000-05:002014-02-21T21:54:47.781-05:00Moldova and Iraq! Thank you to our new readers!It is very rewarding to see so many new readers from so many diverse places in the world!<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 34.90909194946289px;">bun venit și vă mulțumesc</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 34.90909194946289px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; line-height: 34.90909194946289px;">نرحب وشكرا لكم</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-85422894031923114682014-02-21T21:47:00.000-05:002014-02-21T21:47:02.853-05:00The Role of Network Admins in Addressing CyberbullyingFrequently, the most talented technology
experts within a school system operate the networks.<br />
<br />
They also have teen
assistants who have knowledge of both the technology and the students and their
online activities.<br />
<br />
They can be invaluable in the search for the real
cyberbully. By stepping back and watching the chatter within Facebook school
groups and triangulating it with what they can locate on the network servers,
many cyberbullies can be found and confirmed without having to get subpoenas
and go through legal process.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Always make sure that the network
administrators are part of the team created to address cyberbullying in
schools. They are an often overlooked expert resource.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Valerie Schmitz holds a double Ph.D. in
Instructional design and Technology Education, as well as a Masters in Educational
Leadership:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
“School computer
network specialists are responsible for a variety of tasks ranging from simple
helpdesk calls to protecting the security of student records. While not always
professional educators themselves, these specialists are also being asked to
address student behaviors and interactions. Specifically, as our children have
brought bullying into the virtual world computer network specialists now must
implement tools to address cyberbullying.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
Rather than wait
until a high-profile incident has occurred, schools must proactively collaborate
to implement procedures to address cyberbullying. While school personnel such
as guidance counselors, teachers, and administration can be proactive by
implementing awareness events, dialogue, or educational events, school network
administrators can also be proactive by implementing network secure access
restrictions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
Many educational
networks are not presently using an authentication system for Internet access.
This essentially means that when anyone accesses the Internet it is completely
anonymous. Individual teacher and student authentication accounts will require
users to "sign in" and take personal responsibility for their actions
online. This proactive effort ensures that anonymous cyberbullying is not an
option for our learners and that anyone who does choose to cyberbully will be
identified based on authentication logs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
While the problem of bullying and
cyberbullying is certainly vast and rooted in many causes, simple
authentication is one tool that school network administrators may choose to use
as a proactive tool.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-25522980675287390772014-02-21T21:39:00.000-05:002014-02-21T21:39:39.530-05:00The Role of Technology Educators in Addressing CyberbullyingMany cases of cyberbullying result from a lack of technology skills or
Internet literacy skills. Students either fail to, or don’t know how to, use
security tools and practices, protect their personal information, and accounts
or understand the consequences of their tech actions.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They think that they are anonymous online. They don’t realize how long
what they post online stays online. Caching and archiving are beyond their
understanding. And without knowing how Google and other search tools find and
digest things online, they can’t appreciate what damage they can do with a few
careless clicks of the mouse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who will teach these skills? Technology educators, that’s who!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Students are sitting ducks for cyberbullies and everything else that can
go wrong online if they don’t know how to use some cyber self-defense. Their
passwords are easy to guess or hard to remember. They share them with anyone
who asks, except their parents. They rely on unreliable information, found on
whacky websites. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They download spyware, malware, and malicious code. They give
away their and their parents’ information to anyone who promises to give them
an iPod for catching the jumping frog. They share information with someone who
seems nice online, and believe that cute 14-year-olds really are what and who
they say they are.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eighteen percent believe that they have closer friends online than off. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thirty-four percent believe that an online friend can be as good a friend as
someone they know in real life. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seventeen percent are meeting people in real
life that they had only known online. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eighty-five percent have reported being
cyberbullied and 70% have reported cyberbullying others.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They are often
gullible, careless, and clueless. The technology teacher coupled with the
librarian and library media specialist have to set them straight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-74789935989465903552014-02-21T21:34:00.001-05:002014-02-21T21:34:44.394-05:00The Role of Librarians and Library Media Specialists in Addressing Cyberbullying<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parry Aftab first wrote about her gratitude for librarians while still
an associate at a big Wall Street law firm. The corporate librarian had been
invaluable in her success, finding information that no one (pre-web) could find
and giving her pointers on information she had come across.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her high esteem for librarians didn’t end there. Although she had
admired school librarians, she hadn’t learned about library media specialists until
a good friend, Della Curtis a Ph.D. in Library Media Information, introduced
her to these secret weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They understand how the technology works and what is credible and what
isn’t. They have the best lists of trusted and reliable sites and understand
what students do there. They can find anything online in two seconds flat and
match it with other offline information that makes it relevant. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Parry even
created a Super Librarian graphic to reflect how she saw school librarians and
library media specialists. When Parry was asked to speak at the Free Speech
session for the ALA’s annual meeting many years ago, Della and other library
media specialists prepared her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No WiredSafety school team can be created without either a school
librarian or library media specialist. When they speak, follow Parry’s lead—be
sure to listen and take careful notes!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-3235373693641450042014-02-21T21:30:00.000-05:002014-02-21T21:31:22.011-05:00The Role of Teachers in Addressing Cyberbullying<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
Teachers play two important roles in addressing cyberbullying in
schools. They are primarily educators and are expected to convey credible
information and approaches to the students. But perhaps even more importantly
when cyberbullying is implicated, teachers are often the “trusted adult”
students turn to when they are targeted by cyberbullying or learn of others
being targeted.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to teaching students not to lend their efforts to aid the
cyberbully, teachers can help encourage their students to report cyberbullying
when they encounter it. While it is wonderful that teachers are trusted with
this crucial information, they are often unprepared to advise their students on
next steps. With good cause, they fear legal liability for mishandling any of
these reports and don’t know how to preserve the student’s confidence while
reporting the cyberbullying. Teachers may be reluctant to turn them over,
especially if they promised the students to keep their identity confidential.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If an anonymous tipline or tip box is created, teachers can remind their
students to use it. School administration and school policing staff can act on
these tips and take action quickly as necessary to shut down the site or
profile or stop the cyberbullying itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Education can help considerably in preventing and dealing with the
consequences of cyberbullying. The first place to begin an education campaign
is with the kids and teens themselves. These programs need to address ways they
can become inadvertent cyberbullies, how to be accountable for their actions,
and not to stand by and allow bullying (in any form) to be acceptable. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We need
to teach them not to ignore the pain of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Teaching kids to “Take 5!” before responding to something they encounter
online is a good place to start. Jokingly, we tell them to “Drop the mouse! And
step away from the computer! That way nobody will get hurt!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Encourage them to “Take 5!” to help them calm down if something upsets
them online or offline to avoid their acting out online. This may include doing
yoga or deep-breathing. It may include running, playing catch, or shooting
hoops. It may involve taking a bath, hugging a stuffed animal, or talking on
the phone with friends. They can create a Take 5! Bulletin Board illustrating
their favorite Take 5! activities or discuss them with others in the class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each student has their own way of finding their center again. If they
do, they will often not become a cyberbully, even an inadvertent cyberbully.
This method even helps with offline bullying and impulse control in the
classroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are several ways teachers can educate kids not to support
cyberbullying:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Teach
them that all actions have consequences;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Teach them
that cyberbullying hurts;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Teach
them that they are liable to being used and manipulated by the cyberbully;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Teach
them that the cyberbully and their accomplices often become the target of
cyberbullying themselves; and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Teach
them to care about others and stand up for what’s right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We need to teach our children that silence, when others are being hurt,
is not acceptable. If they don’t allow the cyberbullies to use them to
embarrass or torment others, cyberbullying will quickly stop. It’s a tall task,
but a noble goal. In the end, our students will be safer online and offline. We
will have helped create a generation of good cybercitizens, controlling the
technology instead of being controlled by it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The more teachers know about cyberbullying and how it works, the better
they can address and prevent it. Art Wolinsky, WiredSafety’s Director of
Technology Education has created professional development materials just for
teachers. Check them out at WiredSafety.org<span style="color: #9933ff; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-12571176040021598742014-02-21T21:25:00.000-05:002014-02-21T21:25:28.038-05:00The Role of Principals in Addressing Cyberbullying<h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">The schools have a valid concern and legal obligation to maintain discipline
and protect their students while in their care. But in this tricky area,
especially when damages for infringing on students’ rights can exceed the
annual salary of much-needed teachers and other educational resources, schools
cannot afford to guess. Until the law becomes better settled, the schools need
to be careful before acting, seek knowledgeable legal counsel, plan ahead, and
get parents involved early.</span></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what’s a principal to do? Talk, educate, and mediate…it’s what they
do best. Bring in the students and parents. Create peer counseling and
mediation boards. Set policy. Create awareness programs. Principals shouldn’t
panic or react in a knee-jerk manner. I would suggest they take their lead from
a very experienced school superintendent in New Jersey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A teenager in that high school, after getting angry with certain
teachers and administrators, lashed out by posting some pretty vulgar and
insulting things about them on a personal website. He wrote the site from home
and posted it online. It wasn’t posted on the school’s server, but was
available to everyone with Internet access once they had the URL. URLs of
classmates’ sites get passed around quickly, and many of the kids in the school
accessed the site from the school’s computers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the word got back to the teachers and administrators, they were
understandably furious. They sought help from the police, who threatened to
charge the teenager with harassment (but they wouldn’t have been able to make
that charge stick).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone involved seemed to lose their head, but the superintendent
managed to keep his. He recognized that this wasn’t a school disciplinary
matter and that the parents needed to be involved. He called in the parents,
who were appalled and took this situation as seriously as they should have.
Together they worked out a suitable apology and a way to handle the case
without blowing it out of proportion. The press had a field day. This
superintendent stood firm against the anger of the teachers and the pressures
of the community. He was right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Months later he shared something with Parry. He told her that he had met
the young teenager at a school event, and the student apologized once again. He
also thanked the superintendent for handling the situation with grace. The boy
had acted out in anger and hadn’t thought about the consequences of his anger.
Eventually, even the teachers came around. We could use many more like him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This advice works just as well when cyberbullying or social-networking
use is discovered. A good principal sets the tone of the school, hopefully with
wisdom, kindness, consistency, and respect.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-59016061961992542142014-02-21T21:21:00.001-05:002014-02-21T21:21:31.237-05:00The Role of Schools in Addressing Cyberbullying<h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">When schools try and get involved by disciplining
the student for cyberbullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of
school hours in the US, they are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating
the student's right to free speech. They also often lose. </span></span></h2>
<h2 style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Schools can be very
effective brokers in working with the parents to stop and remedy cyberbullying
situations. They can also educate the students on cyberethics and the law. Parents
can be educated as well in presentations and with newsletters and handouts.</span></span></h2>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What schools do best is educate and create
awareness. They can bring together all stakeholders and create a community-wide
approach to addressing the problem. Students can be involved in helping frame
solutions and creating programs and policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Schools are often the first to know and to know the
most about the student dynamics and what works and what doesn’t. Their early
knowledge is important to keep things getting out of control, fast! Anonymous
reportlines can be set up to encourage students to report what they see.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If schools are proactive, careful, and creative,
they can avoid the claim that their actions exceeded their legal authority for
off-campus cyberbullying actions. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We recommend that a provision is added to the
school's acceptable use policy reserving the right to discipline the student
for actions taken off-campus if they are intended to have an effect on a
student or they adversely affect the safety and well-being of student while in
school. This makes it a contractual, not a constitutional, issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Work with a team of parents, members of the school
community, law enforcement, and students to articulate the policy and determine
guidelines for enforcement. The more the policy is a result of this
collaborative process, the less likely it will be challenged or that a
challenge would be successful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cyberbullying programs must be top down (on
risk) and bottom up (on measures). All stakeholders must be involved and their
expertise and perspectives considered. Even when a program is in place and
working, it should always be adaptable, articulated, and communicated to all
stakeholder groups.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7334992.post-15778754445521456362014-02-21T21:12:00.000-05:002014-02-21T21:12:10.143-05:00Cyberbullying - Don’t Support It…Report It!<h3 style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Digital alerts are very helpful. But these miss cellphone bullying
and game bullying entirely. They may also miss images that were photoshopped.
For these and other less obvious attacks, you need real and solid intelligence.
And that can come from only one source—the students.</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Create old-fashioned suggestion boxes where students can anonymously
report cyberbullying when they find it. Create an online report form and
promise anonymity as well. Teach the students what constitutes cyberbullying so
they know what to report. Let them know what information you need and what will
happen to reports. Remind them that false reports will be acted on, to
discourage cyberbullying –by proxy when they report their target as the
cyberbully to have the school do their dirty work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They need to understand that asking for help isn’t showing weakness, it
shows wisdom. The tattletale stigma should be addressed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then have the students promote a “report it, don’t support it” message.
They can do skits, posters, write and perform rap or pop songs, or shoot their
own PSAs. Have them look at the issue and define it their way. Get their help
in creating reporting methods too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Devote lots of time to teaching them to tell and teaching the trusted
adults what to do if a student does confide in them. This may be the most
important tip we can give you. Cyberbullyinghas contributed to suicides when the target feels
alienated and faces it alone in the dark. The right response is crucial. So is
being trusted with their confidences.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">From ParryAftab.blogspot.com. All rights reserved.</div>Parry Aftabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13925619964684490441noreply@blogger.com0