Message Board

An online forum or discussion platform where users post messages, comments, or content visible to other users. Message boards (also called forums, discussion boards, or bulletin boards) create privacy considerations because user posts typically contain personal information, are publicly accessible or available to groups, persist over time, and may reveal sensitive information. Privacy issues include user-generated content containing others' personal data, public nature of posts versus privacy expectations, permanent records of discussions, moderation responsibilities, and data retention of old posts. Message board operators should provide clear terms of use explaining public nature of posts, implement reporting mechanisms for inappropriate content, establish moderation policies and enforcement, allow users to edit or delete their posts, consider anonymizing old content, and comply with data subject rights requests. Special considerations apply to children's message boards under laws like COPPA. Message boards balance free expression with privacy protection.