E-crime on social networks and social media sites scrutinised
26 February 2013
Home Affairs Committee hears evidence about e-crime on social networks and social media sites.
Witnesses
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Venue: Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
2.45pm
- Sarah Hunter, Head of UK Public Policy, Google
- Sinéad McSweeney, Director of Public Policy EMEA, Twitter
- Simon Milner, Director of Public Policy UK and Ireland, facebook
Call for evidence
The Committee would like to hear from anyone who has been targeted by scams or abuse on social networks. We would like to hear what was done to resolve the issue once you reported it, how long this took and whether or not the action taken was successful. Information can be submitted anonymously and will be treated in confidence. It will be used to help the Committee understand how well social networks are doing at stopping crime and abuse on their websites. Please send your experiences to us by the morning of Tuesday 26 February using our email address: homeaffcom@parliament.uk
Chair's comments
Committee Chairman Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP said:
"Social networking has become the most popular online activity, accounting for 19% of all time spent online. Over half of UK households now use social networking sites. As users flock to social networks criminals follow, Norton estimates that 4 / 10 users have been the victim of crime on a social network and 1/6 have had their account hijacked by someone who impersonated them. We will be taking evidence from Facebook, Twitter and from Google about its social network and social media products. We will be discussing a number of issues including trends in online crime, how security for users can be improved and the options for helping users who have been victims of scams or abuse."