Facebook - an Introduction

Facebook - with quotes about it ranging from 'Facebook destroys children's social lives' to 'the place
where I found a match made in cyberspace', Facebook is always going to be a controversial website.

An Introduction
According to the makers of the site, Facebook is a 'social utility that connects people with friends
and others who work, study and live around them'.

The primary feature on Facebook is the ability to invite friends and to be invited as a friend by
others. When this is done, although it is an ongoing process that regular users will never finish,
accepted friends are able to see each other's 'walls' and 'status'. A wall is an individual user's page
where any event mentioning them will appear, such as photos including them or their own status. A
status is simply what the user has written, primarily to describe whatever is going on in the user's
life at that moment. Friends can then comment on the status and so begin a conversation. It is easy
to invite friends; simply put their name into the search bar at the top of any page or ask Facebook
to look inside any e-mailing contact list that you have. If they have a Facebook account they will
appear and you can send a friend invitation. If they say yes, then they become your friend and each
of you can see the other's information.

A Short History
Facebook was established in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates Dustin Moskovitz and Chris
Hughes while students at Harvard University. Initially only for use by Harvard students, it spread to
all Ivy League Universities in the USA. As Facebook evolved and grew in stature, it spread to most of
the universities across the world; any student could start an account by listing a valid academic e-
mail address. Today Facebook is available to anyone aged 13 or over, providing they have access to
a computer. At the time of its founding, both Myspace and Bebo were starting to be used by large
numbers of people, primarily young adults and teenagers. Facebook initially struggled to overcome
the advantages of these already entrenched social sites, as users were unwilling to change sites and
start building their networks afresh; however by 2009, Facebook was ranked as the most widely-
used social networking site with a clear margin over the second most widely used, Myspace.

The Home Page

This is where all recent data posted by friends of a Facebook user can be seen. The Home Page
includes any new status posted; photos that have been identified as containing any friend of the
user; groups that have been joined by Facebook friends and information about friends using their
applications (see below). Changes in the information about any user are also posted here, such as
that of relationship status or contact details. Any of these pieces of information can be commented
on here, as this is where the heart and soul of Facebook can be considered to be: this is where
information is primarily shared. The homepage also allows users too busy to comment on new
information to simply say they 'like' it. So far there is no plan for a 'dislike' option, although a large
group (see below) is clamouring for just such an feature. Commenting on information simply
requires a user to say they wish to comment and write in a reasonably short message (under 500
characters).

Basic Features
Facebook has many features that allow users to customise their pages. Here are a few that
Facebook itself supports and are available to all users.

 Facebook chat - online users are able to see which of their invited friends are online at any
moment. From these a conversation may be started using Facebook chat - a simple instant
messenger device similar to MSN Messenger.
  Photo uploading - one of the features that users often give as the reason for preferring
Facebook over other social networking sites is the ease of uploading photos and videos. Any
medium-sized JPEG picture file (smaller then 5MB) can be uploaded, at which point it can
be viewed and commented on by any user.
 Facebook mailing - Facebook has an internal mail system that allows users to send
messages to each other that cannot be viewed by other users.

The Competitors
There are two primary competitors with Facebook: MySpace and Bebo.

MySpace
The largest rival, MySpace was the largest social networking site in 2006 before being surpassed by
Facebook in 2009. It shares a number of features with Facebook, including: Blurbs that are similar
to the information pages on Facebook; a Comments system; a groups feature; MySpaceIM that is
almost identical to Facebook chat and a limited ability to upload photos. However, MySpace differs
from Facebook in several crucial ways. All users are able to edit their page's appearance by writing
in HTML script; this has often led to users' pages malfunctioning due to lack of skill with HTML. It is
considered harder to upload and display photos on MySpace although an ability to edit photos online
can compensate for this; MySpace also has a forum system that users can post to, with messages
deleted after ten days.

Bebo (Blog Early, Blog Often)

While Bebo is similar to the other social networking sites, it focuses more (perhaps unsurprisingly)
on blogging, that is, the communication between Bebo users rather than enjoying the site itself.
Bebo users can also customise their pages more than Facebook users by using modules. Modules that
can be added include a comment function similar to Facebook but also a quiz function where
visitors can decide on a question posed by the user. Direct links to third party sites such as YouTube
are also possible. Photos can be uploaded although albums are limited to a maximum of 48 photos.
Bebo has a better security reputation than MySpace and Facebook, although in May 2008 New
Zealand users were able to access accounts of users in other countries. Bebo however were able to
fix this problem within a few days.

h2g2
While not normally considered to be a competitor to Facebook, h2g2 has many similar
characteristics, though it predates Facebook by five years. You can talk to each other (albeit more
slowly on h2g2), you can join groups and you can organise events. The main advantage Facebook has
over h2g2 is the ability to easily upload photos. The main advantage h2g2 has over Facebook is the
far superior quality of conversation and information. One difference is that Facebook is primarily
used to contact friends that are already known to the user in the real world, whereas h2g2 allows
users to make completely new friends.

Applications
The normal method for users to customise and enjoy Facebook is the ability to add applications to
their account. Written by individual users or companies, they are free to use and are downloaded
onto Facebook. There are many thousands of applications that are sorted into basic categories
including: games, relationships, business and many others.

Here are a few examples:

  Games - Minigolf, Mob wars, and Bejeweled Blitz (warning - some games have been known
to cause dangerous dreams concerning falling crystals)
 Relationships - Weddings, Pass a drink and Circle for Mums
 Business - My Digital Store and I am Ebay

A full list of applications can be found at the Facebook Application Directory. Be warned, however,
that Facebook does not supervise third party sites that host these applications.

Groups
Within Facebook there are tens of thousands of groups that cover many areas from politics to
religious matters to pets and animals. Membership in these groups ranges from tens of millions to a
mere handful of people. The reasons for this disparity can be found in what the group concerns. The
largest number of people can be found, perhaps unsurprisingly, in the group called 'The Largest
Facebook Group Ever', a group so large that it has crashed Facebook's servers twice. On the other
hand a handful of people can form a group simply to commemorate a small event.

Any Facebook user can make a group within which photos, events and news can be posted. The
creator of a group can determine whether users have to be invited to join the group or are free to
join at will. Groups include such diverse topics as serious protest groups that tend to use Facebook
to try and raise money by donations or add numbers to petitions; and groups that are made 'just for
fun'; indeed that is one of the categories creators can place their group.

Clearly an important Facebook group is the h2g2 group which is both serious and jovial.

Here is a brief selection of categories and a sampling of the groups contain therein.

 Politics - Campaign against being PC, After 10 Downing Street

 Religion - 1,000,000 Christians united, one God
 Animals - RSPCA, Rainforest Alliance

Events
Events are often attached to groups within Facebook, but they are also available for any user who
wishes to create one. They allow information to be displayed on a page, including (presumably) the
details to reach the event being advertised. The creator can invite his/her friends to the event and
they are able to indicate whether they will be coming, won't be coming or may be coming. The
creator is also able to set invitation rules to the event, ranging from only those invited may attend,
to friends of those invited may attend to anyone may attend. This however has caused problems
with free-for-all raves being advertised and many more guests attending than had been expected.
Users are able to comment on and discuss the event in a similar way to a group. Events take a
similar amount of effort to set up as groups. If an event only has a few details and invitees then
constructing an event is likely to require more effort than is necessary, otherwise making an event
can create large time savings.

Facebook Banned
So far three, countries have banned Facebook: China, Iran and Syria.

China banned Facebook, as well as Youtube and several other sites, before the 2008 Olympics to
prevent dissent being organised against the games by those wishing to publicise the injustice in
Tibet. China gave little official justification for these actions. After the Olympics the rules were
relaxed until after the riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang. At this point, the rules were reinstated with the
Chinese government stating that Facebook was being used to coordinate riots and protests.
Syria banned Facebook in late 2007, saying that it encouraged attacks on the authorities, although
access is sometimes possible by connecting to foreign servers.

Iran has also banned Facebook, stating that it was assisting opposition movements, a belief that
could have been justified during Iran's election, as users, primarily students, used web proxies to
breach Iran's firewalls.

Privacy
Almost all of the controversy surrounding Facebook concerns its privacy policies. Concerns cover a
wide range of areas but can normally be separated into the availability of information from user's
pages to the wider public and the rights over uploaded data that Facebook itself possesses.

Concerning the first point, Facebook offers a wide range of privacy settings for the data of any user.
These can be set from full public showing - where anyone can visit a site and view and comment on
any information to full privacy where only accepted friends are able to view data and only the user
him/herself can edit their own information. These settings are easy to apply and should be one of
the first things to be customised when an account is set up. Facebook offers advice about managing
accounts for a few days after their construction; following this advice, an account can be made far
more secure.

A recent example of this was when personal details of a senior intelligence agent's personal life
were presented on Facebook by the agent's wife - causing a possible risk despite restrictions on the
media on their ability to publish such information. Another problem is the partial failure of security
settings. Occasionally when users have set their information to private - so that only their friends
should be able to see it - Facebook has not properly concealed the information and it has remained
visible to the wider public. Unknowing users, thinking that their information is safe, can upload
more sensitive personal details that are then visible to all Facebook users. Facebook users must also
be wary about using Facebook to link to other sites. Users who use hyperlinks to travel to other sites
can be traced backwards to Facebook by the other sites' owners. In the worst case a user's name and
account information are visible creating a risk of phishing attacks.

The most problematic area Facebook possesses is that of their right to possess information that
Facebook users upload. The problems mainly concern what should happen to the data - both
personal information such as addresses and pictures that the user added - when the user no longer
requires them.

Facebook has announced that data is instantly hidden when an account is shut down but concerns
were raised about whether the information was truly concealed. A further issue was that when users
deleted their information, copies of it remained for some time on Facebook's servers. A Cambridge
University research team uploaded a set of pictures, noted the specific web addresses and deleted
the photos - the photos could still be accessed by bypassing Facebook and going directly to the
photos.

One additional problem concerning privacy is the ability of people to use Facebook to spy on users.
Over the last few years there has been an enormous upswing in employers, government and even
voters using Facebook to spy on various users.

Here are a few of the more famous examples of Facebook being used as a source of information as
users forget who is able to access their peronal lives.

A Darkened Room?
A Swiss woman took time off work saying that she needed to stay out of the sun or artificial light.
However her employer (Nationale Suisse) spotted her updating her Facebook status and fired her for
lying. The employee then struck back, saying that she used an iPhone (capable of accessing the
internet) rather than a computer.
Trashing Facebook
Oxford students were fined thousands of pounds after pouring champagne and eggs over each other
to celebrate finishing their coursework. The students were caught after Oxford University accessed
their photos that had been uploaded onto Facebook.

Yes We Can!
Barack Obama's chief speechwriter, Jon Favreau, nearly created a bigger publicity disaster than his
boss. He made the mistake of uploading photos onto Facebook of him groping the breast of a Hillary
Clinton cardboard cut-out. Fortunately, he was forgiven by Hillary before being chased off Facebook
by overwhelming female attention.

So the safest way to avoid any data you upload ending up in unwanted hands is simply - be careful
about what you upload.

Remember: What goes on tour, goes on Facebook1.

A Brief Thought
For the last few years of the millennium decade, the proportions of age groups using Facebook have
been fluctuating. The question is, will it lead to Facebook being the world's most widely-used site,
or a site used by a few hard-core fans, or will it remain somewhere in the middle? Time will tell.

1
For those who don't know, this is a reference to 'what goes on tour, stays on tour'. It means that
you can no longer rely on your friends covering up the stupid things you did on holiday.
Israel 'using Facebook to recruit Gaza
collaborators'

Social networking websites are becoming increasingly popular in Gaza

By Jon Donnison
BBC News, Gaza

In a busy internet cafe in the centre of Gaza City, lots of people, mostly young, are
typing and clicking away.
Some of them are engrossed in the world of Facebook. "I use it 10 hours a day," says
Mohammed who owns the shop. "I have over 200 Facebook friends."
But Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, believes the population's
love of social networking websites is making it easier for Israel to recruit spies.
Israel has long maintained networks of informers in the West Bank and Gaza in its effort to
derail the activities of militant groups.
Historically, collaborators have often been killed if discovered, and this week Hamas
announced it would execute anyone caught acting as an agent for Israel.
Personal problems
Facebook "is a big, big thing that the Israelis use", says Ehab al-Hussein, a spokesman for
the Hamas-run interior ministry.
"Many people don't have security sense. They go on the internet and talk about all their
personal problems such as with their wives or girlfriends," he says.
Israel's intelligence services can then contact people by telephone, e-mail or using existing
Israeli agents in Gaza, and use the information to pressure people to become spies.
If in 50 years they open up the
secret files of the Israeli secret
services, the sophistication of
electronics that is being used by
Israel now in the Gaza Strip would
The internet "allows them to make people feel Israel put even the legendary Q from the
knows everything about them", says Mr Hussein. James Bond movies to shame

Ronen Bergman, an Israeli expert on intelligence and

author of Israel's Secret War with Iran, says monitoring Ronen Bergman
Expert on Israeli intelligence
social networking sites is the very minimum you would
expect from his country's intelligence services.
"Israel is using the personal information that is put in massive amounts on the internet to
identify the people who can maybe help Israel," he says.
"If in 50 years they open up the secret files of the Israeli secret service, the Shin Bet, and
military intelligence, the sophistication of electronics that is being used by Israel now in the
Gaza Strip would put even the legendary Q from the James Bond movies to shame."
But Mr Bergman says that the intelligence community's current thinking is that using
personal information gleaned from the internet to pressure or even blackmail potential
informants is not considered effective in recruiting long-term informants.
He says such threats are not often enough to get people to commit such a serious offence
as collaborating.
But online detail, he says, can help intelligence services identify people who might be useful
- such as those with good access to Hamas or to criminal networks.
When asked to comment, the Israeli government said it was not its practice to talk about its
security services' modes of operation.
Phone fears
Even Mr Hussein admits he has a Facebook page, "but I'm careful about the information I
put on," he says. "I only say I am a Hamas spokesman."
He is probably not the only member of Hamas communicating on Facebook and the internet.
This is partly because other forms of communication, particularly mobile phones, are easily
bugged and can be used to track movements, Mr Bergman says, so the internet has become
a more preferable option.
One reason Israeli intelligence is watching the social
networking websites to try to identify potential informants
is because a historical source of collaborators no longer
exists, according to Mr Bergman.
Up until the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising,
started in 2000, thousands of Gazans had permits to
enter Israel each day to work.
These people had direct contact with Israelis and were Virtually all Palestinians leaving Gaza
sometimes approached by Israeli intelligence officers and now do so for medical reasons
asked to collaborate.
But these days the border is virtually sealed.
Virtually the only Palestinians allowed through are often in wheelchairs or bandaged up,
seeking medical treatment in Israel.
Some of those say they've been asked for information about Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
"They asked if I knew any people in my neighbourhood who were members," says Khaled, a
young man from Gaza City, who will give only his first name.
'Not safe'
He had to go to Israel to seek medical treatment after being injured in last year's conflict
with Israel.
He says he did not pass on any information that the Israelis would not already have known.
But he gives an insight into how intelligence officers pressure people to become informants.
"They say that they know everything about you, but actually it's information you have
already published on Facebook," he says.
"It's not safe to publish such information - I believe it allows Israel to keep watching our
movements."
Last year, Israel dismissed as "simply ludicrous" allegations that its security forces had told
Palestinians seeking permits to exit Gaza for medical treatment that they would only be
allowed to leave if they supplied information on militant groups.

Last Updated: Thursday April 08 2010 11:23 GMT

Do you go on social websites?

Loads of children are ignoring age rules about

going on social websites, says a new report.
To use most social websites like Facebook and Bebo,
you're supposed to be at least a teenager.
Watch NR special: Caught in the Web
But in a survey for Ofcom, one in four children between
eight and 12 who use the internet at home said they
had a profile on a social networking site.
So do you ignore the age limit on social websites?
If so, why do you do it?
And do your parents know about any online profiles you
have?
Let us know what you think!

Your comments

"I have Facebook because I think it's fun to use

and you get to chat to your mates."
Bradley, 10, London, England

"I think social networking sites should be for

everyone."
Mehdi, 11, Leicester, England

"Facebook and MySpace are really dangerous and

there are lots of dangerous people out there in
this big world. Anything could happen to you, so I
advise you not to use it."
Amina, 11, London, England

"I am not using one because I am not old enough,

and having heard what happens I don't really
want to be on one."
Lilly, 10, York, England

"I have a Facebook and a MySpace account so I

can keep in touch with my friends."
Bethanie, 13, County Durham, England

"I have a social networking site profile. I go on it

everyday but I am thinking about taking it down."
John, 13, Lancashire, England

"I think if children want websites like Facebook

then the owners should make a safer version for
kids."
Haider, 10, Birmingham, England

"Yessss! All the time. I do go out and meet them

face to face but what's wrong in chatting to them
online? Facebook is safe if you just accept your
friends and make your profile private. It is good
because you can send messages when it's their
birthday if you aren't able to see them on that
day."
Bethan, 13, Swansea, Wales
"Some of my friends use Facebook and Bebo. I
don't because I think it's useless."
Rojin, 10, Edinburgh, Scotland

"I love Facebook. It has games, quizzes and it's a

great way to keep in touch. I have lots of old
friends of mine and you can always change the
privacy setting if you're worried, so only your
friends can see your profile."
Sarah, 14, Liverpool, England

"I don't go on many. I only go on Habbo Hotel

because I don't want to go on Facebook, Bebo or
Twitter."
Isobel, 9, Bucks, England

"I had Bebo but then I deleted it because it kept

sending me these rude messages. I think it totally
wastes my 30 minutes on my computer anyway!"
Maria, 10, Glasgow, Scotland

"I use social websites and networks to speak to

my friends and family because we travel a lot. I
think it is a great way to communicate with
people. Face to face is better, but when you live
far away or you are busy, they are perfect!"
Nathan, 14, Baar, Switzerland

"I don't have an account because I don't need to.

What's the point chatting online when you can
use a phone?!"
Tara, 11, London, England

"I have a profile on Facebook and chat to my

friends a lot of the time. Most of my friends have
Facebook, but we're all nearly old enough."
Gavin, 11, Glasgow, Scotland

"I used to have a Facebook account but I deleted

it because I felt unsafe. Someone hacked into my
account and since then, I feel that children should
only go on MSN. The internet isn't very safe
because there are horrible people around and
they could be anyone." Isabella, 11, Essex, England
"I have both, and MSN, but I only have certain
people on there and my profiles are private. Also,
I don't have a picture of me on any of them
because then people can't know your identity."
Millie, 13, Edinburgh, Scotland

"I do go on Facebook and I think children over the

age of 11 should be allowed to go on sites like
these because it lets you chat with your friends."
Declan, 11, Hull, England

"I do have a Facebook account, although it is

pointless. I waste a lot of time on it but I don't do
anything dangerous or silly."
Jess, 11, Cardiff, Wales

"I think they should put the rules up but my mum

knows my password on Facebook, so she knows
what I'm doing."
Chloe, 8, London, England

"I use Facebook even though I am under the age

limit. I use it because I think that if you're careful
on social networking sites you'll be fine. Also, my
parents do know about me on it, they also signed
me up!"
Hannah, 10, Surrey, England

"I was considering signing up to become a

member on Facebook, but after watching 'Caught
in the Web' I decided against the idea. It is much
safer to talk face to face, rather than using
computers, because sometimes people are not
completely truthful about who they are!"
Megan, 14, Lincoln, England

"I go on social websites very often because all my

friends have Facebook and Bebo. They are
actually quite good to talk to people and you can
find people that you used to know in the past too.
I normally go on MSN because it's better and
safer."
Salem, 13, Yorkshire, England
"I have a profile on Twitter, Bebo and Facebook
and it is perfectly safe if you know what you are
doing. If you want, set your profile to Private so
that only you and your friends can see your
profile."
John, 14, Inverness, Scotland

"If you have a mobile it costs money to send

texts, while on Facebook and Bebo it's free."
Tate, 11, Surrey, England

"I do have a Facebook account but I only add and

talk to people I know. My mum also has an
account so she can watch what I do and make
sure I stay safe."
Sophie, 12, London, England

"It's OK only if you know how dangerous the

internet is. Just accept people you know and if
someone crazy finds you, block them."
Joe, 11, London, England

"I use Facebook nearly everyday and I think that

it is a fantastic site where you can keep in touch
with your friends and family. My parents make it
safer for me because they decide who can be my
friend and who can't, so if you play safe then
Facebook can cause no harm."
Jess, 11, Lancaster, England

"I think it's ridiculous that they're taking this so

seriously. If the website initiated the panic button
like they said they would, anything written that
could be potentially dangerous could be reported.
Most of us just use Facebook, Bebo and MySpace
to keep in contact with friends, you can never be
too young to do that!"
Leigh, 12, London, England

I use Facebook and used to go on Bebo. You can

change your privacy settings so only friends or
certain people can see your profile and photos.
Most people only add or accept people they know
as well to keep themselves safe."
Lauren,12,Newcastle, England

"I do have Bebo and Facebook because I think it

is an easier way to speak with your friends and
express yourself."
Sian, 10, Elgin, Scotland

"I think that it is a big risk but I do have a Bebo,

Facebook and a Twitter account. I always ask my
mum first but I only have the accounts to keep up
with friends that I meet on holidays and clubs."
Stephenie, 11, Cwmbran, Wales

"I do go on Facebook and MSN, but my dad checks

it to make sure nothing bad has happened."
Emily, 11, Macclesfield, England

"I have MSN, Bebo and Facebook, and I love it!!!

You get the chance to talk to all your friends
during the holidays. When I first saw this report I
was actually on Facebook and Bebo!! My parents
approve of my online profiles and are always
aware of the people I'm talking to. I am
completely safe online thanks to my parents!"
Catrina, 12, Perthshire, Scotland

"It's stupid because if you live far away from your

friends, it's the only way to keep in touch with
them, and it's unfair that only a certain age can go
on websites. You're not going to be stupid
anyway!"
Ben, 10, Stratford, England

"I use Facebook because I catch up with my

friends that I haven't seen for years. Without it I
only see my old friends and relatives once a year."
Rhys, 11, Birmingham, England

"I think it's OK to have Facebook as long as you

know the dangers and don't accept friend
requests from strangers. Plus, you get made fun
of if you don't have it!"
Ellie, 12, Manchester, England
"I don't go on social websites because I don't
think you need to. Face to face is better and
especially things like Bebo or Facebook because
they are just things that waste your time."
Faduma, 11, London, England

"I do have a profile on Facebook and Bebo

because I think children should be given the right
to have their own choice and chat to friends in
private."
Ross, 11, Trillick, Ireland

"I don't go on them because I don't think they are

safe, but I go on MSN instead. Most of my friends
are on Facebook though."
Shannon, 9, Cramlington

"I don't have a Bebo or a Facebook like most

other people in my class I sometimes get picked
on for it but the only reason is because my
parents want to keep me safe and they don't want
anyone to send me nasty messages."
Amy, 11, Surrey, UK
Complaint sparks removal of paedophile's
Facebook page

Facebook has removed the profile of a paedophile

who has been recalled to jail and said there was "no
place for convicted sex offenders" on the site.
Alain Hegarty, 62, of Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, was
jailed in 2005 for sexually abusing a girl aged under 13.
He was recalled to jail after concerns from his victim's
family that he had contacted children using the social
networking website.
Alain Hegarty was jailed in 2005 for
Hegarty, formerly of Kingswood, Bristol was released on abusing a child
licence in 2007.
'Dealing with aftermath'
He had been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
An Avon and Somerset Police spokeswoman said that Hegarty would be held while it was
investigated whether he had breached his probation terms.
A relative of the victim told BBC Points West: "We were really shocked that he had a
Facebook account.
"It's difficult dredging up things that happened five years ago and the victim is still dealing
with the aftermath of what's happened."
A Facebook spokeswoman said the website "worked aggressively to find and remove these
people from the site".
She said: "Unfortunately, this effort is hampered in the UK In other countries we are
because data on registered sex offenders (eg names and e- able to obtain data on

mail addresses) is not available. registered sex offenders

"In other countries we are able to obtain data on registered and remove these people
quickly
sex offenders and remove these people quickly.
"We are hopeful that a similar solution could be workable in
Facebook spokeswoman
the UK.
She added that people are encouraged to report users they think are in breach of the
website's terms.
Facebook has an ongoing relationship with, and had provided material to, British law
enforcement agencies that had helped secure convictions, she added.