European privacy watchdogs are raising flags about tags. They recently issued a non-binding opinion which states that social networking sites are exposing too much personal information. Practices like tagging other people in photos without their prior consent and the ability to write anything on another person’s wall are in the spotlight. Should their recommendations be enacted, it would send a solid blow to the industry standards like Facebook, MySpace, and the variety of homegrown European sites. In Italy, Google is facing a landmark trial because of a video on YouTube that shows the bullying of a disabled boy. Google argues that the mailman is not responsible for the content of the mail delivered. In the end, Europe is still deciding to what extent the platform is responsible for content that they did not produce.

The full story at EurActiv:
http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosociety/eu-privacy-regulators-eye-online-social-networks/article-183486#