Privacy, In whose hands?

by John Hibionada

Remember that time you did a survey online and got a coupon code for free shipping on eBay in return? Or what about that time that you signed up for Facebook? What happens with that information you filled out? Where does it go? The real answer is… who knows?! Sure it may go to improving services, or creating new ones, but once that company has your information, it is pretty much theirs to do what they may. It is not uncommon for your information to leak out to third parties; This is then where you later find your email inbox flooded with promises of “Free iPads” and “$1000 Gift Cards”. On average, I get at least 100 Spam Emails to my Gmail account a day; and that’s not even the worst part... The worst part is that I STILL GET SPAM IN MY INBOX! Are companies pawning off our information to others? Sure seems like it. Privacy has always stuck out like a sore thumb as an issue and is yet to be resolved. With the evolution of the digital age, this issue has become amplified. With the internet becoming more and more monetized, our information will always be increasingly valuable to those with the abilities to capitalize on them… Or even worse, our identities themselves could be at risk. So where does this leave our privacy?

Who will protect us? This has been the main question that has been left unanswered. One thought that the government may be sufficient, ‘We need to involve the government itself in the privacy fight.’ (Garfinkel, 2000: 324) The government is able to create laws and regulations that will prevent these companies from divulging your private information to third parties, and punish those that do. Internet users and citizens alike will be protected from potential issues such as email spam, telemarketing calls, and identity theft. Though this may seem like the most plausible course of action -and the end all be all to privacy woes - users may still be vulnerable, even under the umbrella of the government.

Yes, government intervention may offer a higher level of protection and regulation, but how far would that extend? The World Wide Web has far outgrown the reach of a government under a single nation. What if the sites handling your information are operating outside of the country you live in? Is it possible to be protected then? Another issue with enacting laws and regulations is keeping them up to speed with the fast-paced development of technology and the web. How would you levy such restrictions on a landscape that is always changing? Government alone cannot protect the privacy of individuals completely, but it definitely is a good first step.

Government support is definitely a must. Every nation in the world should have government backing in the protection of their citizen’s rights. The internet industry needs a higher power that keeps a watchful eye on the activity of these companies. In order to make this a powerful enforcement, it would be best warranted as a single entity in privacy protection. To elaborate a little, it would be one group, with representatives from each country, meeting together to create the best practices for their home country by collaborating with the other countries in order to understand the variances in usage by each population. This could either be a constituency on its own, or it could even be integrated with the UN. This strategy would also allow for open lines of communication and protocol for each country, in case there are international conflicts/issues on the web. And that’s just step two...

Step three involves the education of the users themselves. For the most part, your own privacy is in – well - your own hands! You control where your information goes, who it goes to, so you must know the best way to protect it. Whether it’s knowing where to look for privacy policies on websites, how to spot phishing tactics, or blocking spyware, you, the user, must become educated! With the internet ever changing it seems to become harder and harder to do this. For example, I have found that pop up blockers that were 100% effective a year ago can no longer block all pop ups. It seems as if you can’t get away from them! Another example is the way that spam or spyware is presented to you. Now, phishing documents appear very similar to the authentic ones, and to the average internet user, you may not be able to pick up on that. These are just a couple of cases that show how quickly the growth of technology has come, and how it is not possible for the average user to identify such privacy infringements, just by browsing. This is where the governing bodies would step in.

In addition to the privacy protocol this body would instill, it would also be their duty to provide relevant education packages for each country and this will be made available to each population and conveyed in an accessible and attractive manner. When I mean attractive I mean in ways that people living in this generation can easily relate to. This can be exercised through utilizing existing web networks such as youtube, twitter, facebook, outlets which the majority of people are already using. Once the user is educated, they can then start to bring privacy back into their own hands.

Citing recent changes in the privacy policy for facebook users, we can use this as an example of how users are fighting back to regain their privacy (Swift. 2011). Facebook until recent has had very startling policies regarding the privacy of user content. Anything you post on facebook becomes property of Facebook, which they may do with what they want. Though once users became educated and voiced their concerns, they got the backing of many influential people that forced the company to revise their privacy policy and create a more user controlled environment where they can manage all things private for their own profiles. While Facebook is still in the process of increasing privacy, it is one of the major initiatives of this past decade and shows signs of the power users hold on Web 2.0

If Web 2.0 is going to put the internet in the hands of its users, then its privacy will follow. Users control the content, and they also control what information goes on the internet and where it does. It is also the duty of the users to be aware of different attempts at invading their privacy, as well as the ongoing changes that occur on the web. With the increasing power of modern day search engines such as Google, this should not be a difficult task. Also, users must gain the support of their governments. Each government must put forth some initiative to protect their citizens on the internet. It will not be an overnight process, nor will there be a single action that will be the savior to our privacy, rather it will be a collaborative movement, with governments, countries, and users together that will put the privacy back in the users’ hands. So now you decide, who will hold your privacy?

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Garfinkel, Simson. (2000) Privacy and the New Technology: What They Do Know Can Hurt you. Living in the Information Age. California: Wadsworth (Second Edition)

Swift, Michael (2011) Facebook develops new privacy policy [Online] Available at http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_17566669?nclick_check=1 [Last Accessed 9 March, 2011]