Topic 3 – Discussion
I do not believe that privacy concerns are overblown, but I agree that everyone is entitled to privacy everywhere, including the digital world. Data plays a vital role in the current world; everything we do is being recorded and stored in various digital platforms. This phrase “if you’ve got nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about” (Roux, 2013) has been used to justify the use of personal information by various organizations such as Facebook without their users’ consent. Our privacy has been vandalized by various websites that we visit and leave behind our digital footprints or personally identifiable information. For instance, the Facebook organization was accused of misusing users’ data. Even after the Cambridge Analytica story, Facebook still faces privacy issues (Wong, 2019). This issue does not just lie with Facebook alone but other digital platforms as well that are involved in handling a large amount of data of various users who visit different online platforms. The major is issue involves sharing, transacting, or commercializing individual data without their consent.
I support the idea of the United States adopting stricter digital privacy laws. This will deter publishers from using user’s data without them knowing, regulating brand and third-party data brokers from collecting user information, and controlling internet user data monetization. The European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2016, giving the consumers the privilege to manage their own data. If the United States adopts stricter digital privacy, it will necessitate explicit consent from advertisers and publishers prior to collecting user data. This will curb the issue of user data misuse. It will also allow data providers to perform data collection in a way that is both beneficial to advertisers and conscientious of
consumers’ privacy. And it will have more meaningful, actionable data for marketers.
References
Roux, Y. L. (2013, October 3). Privacy concerns in the digital world. Retrieved from www.computerweekly.com: https://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Privacy-concerns-in-the-digital-world
Wong, J. C. (2019, March 18). The Cambridge Analytica scandal changed the world – but it didn’t change Facebook. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com/: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/17/the-cambridge-analytica-scandal-changed-the-world-but-it-didnt-change-facebook