The Legal and Ethical Issues surrounding Internet Privacy!
- Meshanah Mendoza
- May 14, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 7, 2020
In a world where sharing personal content online has become second nature, the action of this data being taken from us is also occurring simultaneously. So this has led me to question, if internet privacy even exists anymore???
I’m not going to sugar coat the reality of the internet, and I’m sure you’re fully aware about this dark side. Every time you browse online, your privacy is under constant threat from cybercriminals who attempt theft into online accounts, using malware or phishing techniques for example, as well as the threat of tracking surveillance from third parties such as software designers (and the government even).
Take for example the Facebook Privacy Scandal in 2018. The New York Times reported that Facebook gave technology companies including Microsoft, Netflix and Spotify as well as the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica , special access to users data without anyone else knowing. This data included the access to photos and the users general details such as their phone numbers.This release of private information unfortunately affected as many as 50 million users!
Despite these issues, a recent study conducted by Viber polled 1500 users worldwide during March this year, and found that 75% of internet users aren’t bothered about the data they share with companies. Alongside this, a study by The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), analysed the level of concern people had towards businesses sharing their personal information to third party organisations. The results were shocking to me, as the majority of individuals my age were ‘not concerned’ or where only ‘somewhat concerned’.
OAIC Data
Overall, you can clearly tell that I am very worried about my online privacy, but now I want to know about thoughts towards internet privacy? Please feel free to leave a comment below.
References
Thanks for reading my blog post Deane! That’s so true, I didn’t realise how much businesses had in regards to my online data and where they send this information to. It’s quite scary!
Excellent post Meshanah! I believe that the attention to our privacy online is poor and I believe that businesses are all "talk" in helping protect our information.
Thank you for reading my post Shashika! That’s very true, the action of companies using our internet data is everywhere, and I feel like it’s unavoidable now.
Great read Meshanah! I am the same, I am definitely very cautious of how I am using the internet and what I am using it for. My only concern is that, in the future, how much more can we as users do to prevent these unsure feelings when we so willingly trust organisations with our information?
Thanks for reading me post Bahar! This idea of establishing and implementing new laws sounds like the most suitable idea. I agree with your view that it’s very unsettling!