By Stephanie Kopf
August 2008, around 3,5 years ago, there were 100 million active Facebook users worldwide. As of September 2011 that number is eight times bigger.
Germany had 18 million Facebook users in 2010, being behind other European countries such as France and the UK.
In 2011 the average German stayed on Facebook for 135 minutes – a little over two hours. The statistics show the average time spent per visitor on different websites. But Facebook usage has hit some snags in Germany, due to widespread concern connected with how seriously Facebook takes users’ privacy.
Politicians have called for probing in to just how Facebook saves and uses personal information from users. The Consumer Protection Minister in Germany, Ilse Aigner, publicly called to her colleagues to stop using Facebook in the past, while she herself deactivated her account. And while Facebook is especially popular among young people in Germany, many are still cautious as to how much they make public and who can see their posts and profile information.
In 2011 a group of Austrian students filed 22 complaints against Facebook, after discovering that supposedly deleted information from users was actually still available and not deleted at all. The complaints went through the Irish Data Protection Commission, as the Facebook office in Dublin is responsible for European Facebook users. The case is ongoing and has received widespread media coverage throughout Europe.
The European Commission is currently working on a law for stricter data protection management in Europe, which could directly affect the way Facebook manages its users’ personal information.
Well, everyone knows by now that you shouldn’t post things like “I hate my boss” on your Facebook page. As for which data goes where: what you don’t know can’t hurt you, as the saying goes. But once you do know, you’re entitled to do something about it.
Image: © Giorgio Magini/ istockphoto
Stephanie Kopf writes for the blog www.trenditionist.com . She has lived in Siberia, New York City and Germany. Her subject areas include anything related to the human psyche, European news, education, communication in all its forms, as well as the interaction of all of these with each other.
Visit us at http://www.trenditionist.com
