One of the major concerns for users introducing into the digital age is the problem of privacy and liberty. Those of us who have been raised in the digital age are aware of the problems and the issues and thus we are able to protect ourselves from the risks but companies and organisations are predators. There is never a week where it is reported that there are concerns about the state of the security features on a social networking websites. One of the major figures in this concern is Facebook, plagued with problems with advertising, legal rights and ownership of photographs. In a prime example of how the digital age has opened a debate about privacy and liberty, Facebook engaged in a consultation with users on its ‘terms of service’ after a vast number of complaints about changes relating to the unsolicited use of personal photographs for advertisements. Another example was how tracking cookies were being used to deliver targeted advertising without the consent of the user, again the culprit of this crime is Facebook.
This is a trend that is not exclusive to Facebook. Twitter has been the victim of technical issues such as the introduction of worms into the website. There are several instances of these problems and this is an issue that cannot be resolved at a user level through changing personal settings. This is a problem that requires the attention of the development team. If a user is infected and this causes a loss of data or data is published without their consent, there should be a compensation scheme. It is a failure on the part of the organisation to protect its users at a basic secure level. Is it the case that as we become more wired into the digital age and raised in a world where social networking is synonymous with popularity we are abandoning our concerns about privacy and security?
We live in a world where we treasure our possessions, a world where there are laws that protect us against theft and infringement of our liberties and those same laws should be applicable in the digital sphere. Companies and organisations are aware of the voice of discontent among users. Social networking is changing to meet the needs and demands of its users. One of the latest social networking websites, Diaspora, was designed after the designers were concerned about the diminution of user control. Diaspora states that one of its mission statements is “Diaspora makes sharing clean and easy – and this goes for privacy too. Inherently private, Diaspora doesn’t make you wade through pages of settings and options just to keep your profile secure.” One of the problems facing emerging social networking websites is the control that companies like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have over their user base. It is difficult to break into a saturated market where a large section of the population is using Facebook, where celebrities are using Twitter and professionals and businesses are using LinkedIn.
In 2008, a professor of software security, Herbert H. Thompson, wrote an article in the Scientific American where a test was run where Mr. Thompson to steal someone’s identity using information only available online. He was successful in seven stages and wrote that “It’s also critical to remember that once you put data online, it’s almost impossible to delete it later. The more you blog about yourself, the more details you put in your social networking profiles, the more information about you is being archived, copied, backed up and analyzed almost immediately. Think first, post later.” In 2009, CNET and PCWorld ran articles that highlighted the major security concerns with both Facebook and Twitter and most of the issues are still being addressed. In 2010, Leo Hickman wrote an article in The Guardian which highlighted how geo-location applications such as FourSquare could increase the risk of stalking and other malicious crimes.
These are examples of how we are at risk of a digital age that is less about the protection of basic human rights and our personal information but about how companies can manipulate that information for our purposes. People are critical of these articles because the truth is more disconcerting than we would care to imagine. We sacrificed our personal liberty and privacy in the interest of an “open revolution”, a world where we are inter-connected, a world where it is possible to connect with friends with the ease of a few clicks. It is not a world that has a negative value but it is one that should be neutral – it should be balanced with a concern for personal information. There are users on Facebook would publish their telephone number and address to their friends. If that user is unconcerned about who they accept as a friend, malicious and upsetting incidents could occur.
Organisations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Privacy International have published articles on how to protect our personal information in a digital world. It does not discourage users from the digital age but warns them to be cautious, to approach it with scepticism. In a report on privacy in Europe published in January 2011, Privacy International highlighted how there were few safeguards against issues of privacy and assessed how users were at risk. The United Kingdom scored well in government surveillance issues but ranked low in the centralisation of medical databases and how there are still few safeguards against government access to private data.
Social networking a step forward for communications, logistics and development of targeted software but we believe that social networking is synonymous with data loss or with a loss of privacy control. Few users are concerned about these issues. Behavioural advertising, whether it is from Facebook, Google or other smaller organisations, will always be dubious because it hinges on those companies accessing our search history. Personal information will always be available in the public domain but we can take safeguards to ensure that the users of Great Britain are leading the world in how to protect ourselves against rogue organisations.
Articles:
- http://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy
- https://www.privacyinternational.org/ephr
- http://www.pcworld.com/article/160545/facebook_hit_by_five_security_problems_in_one_week.html
- http://news.cnet.com/Will-security-become-Facebooks-Achilles-heel/2010-1029_3-6231585.html
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10162649-2.html
- http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=anatomy-of-a-social-hack
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jul/23/foursquare
- https://joindiaspora.com/
Ian Caithness
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