FrederickLane.com

For Immediate Release

Frederick Lane

Author, Educational Consultant, Lecturer

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802-318-4604

Burlington, VT -- Frederick Lane, an expert on Internet privacy and social media and the author of "American Privacy: The 400-Year-History of Our Most Contested Right," was interviewed this afternoon (10/7) on CNN Newsroom by anchor Brooke Baldwin. The interview aired live at 3:25pm EST.

Lane was contacted by CNN to discuss the recent controversy at Duke University, in which a female student used PowerPoint to create a mock "thesis" detailing her liaisons with and ratings of various Duke athletes in explicit detail. The author forwarded the PowerPoint to just three friends, but one of them (of course!) forwarded it to someone else, and so on. The fake "thesis" is now one of the most popular topics on Google, Twitter, and Facebook.

"This is a topic that I lecture to students about frequently," Lane says. "Most don't really realize how easily and how quickly electronic information can spread. Even fewer really appreciate how permanent electronic information can be. Yes, a single copy can be deleted, but when something starts spreading on the Internet, it's virtually impossible to locate and delete every copy of an image or a file."

The Duke University incident underscores the need to educate students at all levels, from elementary school through college, about how the Internet works, how easily information can spread, and the moral and ethical boundaries of publishing information about others. With the average age of cell phone ownership dropping below 10, these are issues that affect the very youngest students on up.

For information about Lane's publications and speaking services, please visit http://www.FrederickLane.com .

To contact Frederick Lane to arrange an interview about the Duke incident, the recent Rutgers tragedy, or other issues of student privacy and social media, please e-mail him at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 802-318-4604.

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