Facebook recently changed its privacy policy to let users under 18 share their posts publicly for the first time. In the past, the most public their posts could be was to “Friends of Friends.” Teens will have to opt into public sharing, and when posting publicly for the first time, they’ll see a dialogue windows that asks, “Did you know that public posts can be seen by anyone, not just people you know? You and any friends you tag could end up getting friend requests and messages from people you don’t know personally.” Facebook made this switch as it tries to take on other social media sites, like Snapchat, Tumblr and Twitter, none of which restrict how young users can share. The change was also brought on because younger celebrities want to publicly share with their fans from their personal Facebook pages. The updated policy is live now, so it’s a good time to double-check with any teens at home on Facebook that they know exactly who they’re sharing with.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.