Minister for Education Mary Hanafin has warned young people of the risks to privacy posed by social networking websites such Bebo and Facebook.
Minister for Education Mary Hanafin and Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes, at the launch of the new initiatives
Ms Hanafin says users of such sites need to be careful what personal information they provide as they cannot be 100 per cent sure who is accessing it.
She was speaking at the release of an educational resource, produced by the office of Data Protection Commissioner, on privacy and data protection for secondary schools. The release coincides with the second annual Council of Europe Data Protection Day.
Ms Hanafin said: "In this digital age, it is important that young people are aware of the advantages and risks of using technology".
To raise awareness about the issues, the office of Data Protection Commissioner is also running an online competition.
The most innovative video clip, posted on the YouTube website, on the theme of "privacy in the 21st century" will win a prize of €5,000.
Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes said he hoped the educational resource and the competition will demonstrate how serious these issues are for young people and the Government.
