Privacy on the Internet is a growing concern as technology advances, the collection of personal information online increases, and the ability to search, tag, and aggregate that information. Issues related to data privacy were discussed during the 39th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, data-intensive technologies pose a serious and unprecedented challenge to the right to privacy (United Nations, 2018). The report mentions a worrying trend, the growing digital footprint of individuals, linked to the billions of personal information collected through PCS, smartphones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other wearable devices that we forget about. And the current lack of transparency in the use of personal data by companies and governments is also cited as a concern. Companies and governments work together to spy on people in a variety of ways, from interception to hacking into the equipment of human rights defenders and others (United Nations, 2018). According to Romansky& Noninska (2020), the right to privacy is a fundamental human right of international significance and has been recognized in various international and regional documents. The right to privacy allows us to choose which parts of the domain others have access to, and controls how, and when we choose to disclose how those parts are used (Romansky& Noninska, 2020). The current digital age extends the definition of privacy to “privacy in the digital environment” and everyone who lives on the Internet may be experiencing a privacy threat.
Achieving privacy is particularly difficult for those who are marginalized in other areas of their lives. People may not worry about such issues when they are normally independent in all respects, but when people are sick, there is an essential change in the way they think about it. And women who face stalker abuse find themselves in a fundamentally different position than women who do not face such threats (Bélanger & Crossler, 2011). Technology often only reflects and amplifies these problems, adding to the pain of the stalker’s target. In addition, people living in the age of new online media are very aware that their information and data are being monitored, and people have for a long time chosen to participate in social media, carry a cell phone, and engage in other activities. The growth of online technology has led to a situation where most people find themselves constantly negotiating between disclosure, concealment, and connection. As data-based systems become more common, the companies that people entrust to protect their data often fail to do so, so the lines between choice, circumstance, and compulsion become increasingly blurred (Bélanger & Crossler, 2011). At the same time, information privacy is an important concern for companies. In one survey, 85% of companies surveyed had experienced some form of privacy intrusion in the previous year, and 63% reported multiple intrusions. Most reporting companies indicated that they spent their time responding to privacy intrusions rather than actively preventing them (Bélanger & Crossler, 2011).
The privacy paradox is exemplified in the new media world. Despite the expressed concerns about privacy in the digital age, people often take few steps to protect themselves. Internet users have expressed great concern about the threat of privacy in the network environment (Young & Quan-Haase, 2013, as cited in Govani & Pashley 2005; Acquisti & Gross 2006). Paradoxically, users are actively building their identity online by disclosing personal information (Young & Quan-Haase, 2013, as cited in Sundén 2003& Boyd 2008) and participating in systems that allow people to access information and socialize with friends. According to the survey, users adopt many privacy protection strategies to solve their problems (Young & Quan-Haase, 2013). These include more extensive content removal, blocking friendship requests, simply unpacking photos, and managing default privacy settings.
Facebook’s privacy settings and privacy breaches
Facebook is one of the largest social media, with about 2.19 billion monthly active users as of the first quarter of 2019. On Facebook, users can not only build social relationships with friends but also build shared personal identities. This interaction allows the user to have a positive effect on the user on a psychological level, which in turn fulfills what most users seek, name recognition and a sense of belonging (Read & van der Schyff, 2020, as cited in Debatin et al. 2009). Moreover, Facebook users not only check their accounts approximately 14 times a day but also tend to construct their Facebook identities based on peer influence (Read & van der Schyff, 2020, as cited in Strater & Lipford 2008). After a Facebook identity is constructed, friends on the social networking site can access a lot of personal information at any time, not only the basic information about the user’s age and gender, but also all posts recorded by the user and their location. This method of self-disclosure often leads to unintended consequences if not protected using Facebook privacy settings, one of which is that personal information can be misused.
The privacy paradox is exemplified by Facebook users, who are not indifferent to data privacy issues. According to the survey, Facebook users are more concerned about privacy than terrorism and the environment (Read & van der Schyff, 2020). Despite this, users continue to disclose personal information on Facebook (Young & Quan-Haase, 2013). Facebook users manage their homepage by removing information that could be harmful to them (Read & Van der Schyff, 2020, cited in Lampe et al. 2008& Madden & Smith 2010). In a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Madden, and Smith (2010) revealed that users often manage their reputations by removing controversial or unattractive photos or removing wall posts that describe those photos negatively. Moreover, social privacy concerns also affected participants’ Facebook habits. While most participants reported receiving friend requests from strangers, few accepted the request. Most respondents said that if they did not know the person making the friendship request, they would either ignore or delete it. Some people ask where they met (Read & van der Schyff, 2020). However, it is people who voluntarily reveal personal information that can be leaked.
Facebook has faced several privacy and security issues in recent years. In March 2018, Facebook was embroiled in a major data breach crisis when Cambridge Analytica extracted the personal data of more than 87 million Facebook users without their consent, which was likely used to support 2016 US presidential candidate Donald Trump (Webdeveloper, 2010). When Facebook learned of the data breach, it allegedly took no action and waited months before issuing an order to Cambridge Analytica to delete all data. The scandal has enraged Facebook’s millions of Facebook users, lawmakers, and advertisers, with the world’s attention on Facebook. And Facebook was hacked, resulting in the disclosure of 30 million users’ information in September 2018. Of those, 14 million had their sensitive information stolen by hackers. Many users’ private information and browsing history are fully exposed on the dark web. On December 14 of that year, Facebook also leaked private photos of 68 million users due to a software bug. The bug allowed about 1,500 apps to access users’ private photos. Before the data leak, users’ authorized programs could only access shared photos, not private photos.
Quora privacy breach
Quora is an American social question-and-answer site where users can interact by editing questions and commenting on answers submitted by other users. In December 2018, Quora announced that around 100 million user accounts had been affected by a data breach. The information stolen by hackers included users’ names, email addresses, encrypted passwords, data from social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and users’ questions and answers. And while the vast majority of what is accessed is already publicly available on Quora, the leak of accounts and other private information is serious. The leaked information may also allow hackers to log in to other social media accounts Quora users are connected to through access tokens, but users who participate anonymously on the site are not affected (Zhong, 2018). Later, Quora’s CEO Adam D’Angelo took to social media to explain how the hack occurred and promised that the company was taking new measures to strengthen security and protect users (Kitterman, 2018).
The authors use these two cases to illustrate that people have chosen to engage in social media, carry their phones, and engage in other activities for a long time. As people construct their identities across a mountain of different online platforms, most are unaware of the impact that a digital privacy breach can have on an individual’s life. Considering the Facebook and Quora data leaks, I can’t help but wonder if people on the Internet have privacy. People actively express themselves on the Internet without thinking that one day all their information will be leaked for some unknown purpose. In addition, the leakage of digital information can have a very big impact on users. First, a database of the size of a user’s private information, such as phone numbers, could lead to social engineering attacks or hacking attempts by bad actors using this data. Also, many people will often receive text messages and calls from unknown numbers, most of which are scams or sales pitches. Therefore, people on the Internet should be vigilant to reduce the exposure of their information and privacy anytime and anywhere.
There is another example that reflects the threat to privacy in the digital age. A young female singer in Japan posted a selfie on social media, after which a man looked at the train station reflected in the singer’s eyes and found it using Google Street View. The man also reportedly studied videos taken of the woman in her apartment, looking at details such as the position of the curtains and the direction of the natural light coming in through the windows, to determine which floor, she lived on to break into the home and molest her (BBC News). Such incidents have occurred in many countries around the world, and many women have been killed in connection with the exposure of privacy.
Conclusion
The paradox of privacy is exemplified by the development of online technologies that allow most people to find themselves constantly negotiating between disclosure, concealment, and connection. Despite the concerns expressed about Internet privacy, people often take few steps to protect themselves. And, as data-based systems become more prevalent, the line between choice, circumstance, and coercion becomes increasingly blurred as the companies people entrust with protecting their data often fail to do so. As people build their identities across a mountain of different online platforms, most are unaware of the impact a digital privacy breach can have on their personal lives. And when digital privacy is leaked, it can lead to very serious consequences, the data leakage of Facebook and Quora are two typical examples. In the age of new media, people should stay aware of privacy leaks and reduce exposure to their privacy.
Reference:
Bélanger, F., & Crossler, R. E. (2011). Privacy in the Digital Age: A Review of Information Privacy Research in Information Systems. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 1017. https://doi.org/10.2307/41409971
Kitterman, T. (2018, December 5). Quora confirms data breach for 100 million users. PR Daily. https://www.prdaily.com/quora-confirms-data-breach-for-100-million-users/
P. Romansky, R., & S. Noninska, I. (2020). Challenges of the digital age for privacy and personal data protection. Mathematical Biosciences and Engineering, 17(5), 5288–5303. https://doi.org/10.3934/mbe.2020286
Read, K., & van der Schyff, K. (2020). Modelling the intended use of Facebook privacy settings. SA Journal of Information Management, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajim.v22i1.1238
Stalker “found Japanese singer through reflection in her eyes.” (2019, October 10). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50000234
United Nations. (2018). Digital age: Is our privacy under threat?
Webdeveloper. (2010). Facebook–Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal|Business Ethics|Case Study|Case Studies. Icmrindia.org. https://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business%20Ethics/BECG160.htm
Young, A. L., & Quan-Haase, A. (2013). PRIVACY PROTECTION STRATEGIES ON FACEBOOK. Information, Communication & Society, 16(4), 479–500. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2013.777757
Zhong, R. (2018, December 4). Quora, the Q. and A. Site, Says Data Breach Affected 100 Million Users. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/technology/quora-hack-data-breach.html