29 January 2010 | Author: O. Gaywood Media Optimiser

What have we learned from Data Protection Day?

Although it may sound like a made up carnival, internet users the world over yesterday celebrated Data Privacy Day.

Observed in Canada, the United States and 27 European countries - Data Privacy Day has even passed Senate resolutions to be officially recognised - DPD wants to make people aware of privacy issues the internet over. Mainly aimed at teens and young adults, DPD gives details of personal information given away and kept on social networking sites, gaming and other web activities.

So how are people celebrating? Many large companies have used the day to help smooth over any worries of their products.

Facebook, who had to redraft their privacy policy early in 2009 after a raft of complaints, invited experts the world over to give their views on the important and dangers of privacy online.

Google used its blog to remind users of their privacy principles. The search engine giant, that provides personalised results based on a user's history, have previously given people reasons for concern over its Street View antics and more recently over its analytics package in Germany.

Although privacy problems haven't put Microsoft in the news recently, it was happy to run an online survey. The main findings of the survey showed that 79% of US job recruiters search for information on their candidates online, meaning those drunken Facebook photos may be having more of an influence on your life than you actually realise.

The main message to come out of the day was that while you can get better book recommendations or site recommendations by giving out information, be sure that you're happy to let go of that data happily and with no regrets.