In the novel 1984, George Orwell described a dystopian future where mass surveillance and propaganda enabled a totalitarian government that completely forbade freedom of speech. Citizens were surveilled through screens, cameras and microphones that constantly tracked their moves and thoughts. What once was a science fiction story is increasingly becoming a reality in the current ultra-connected society, where smartphones and cameras are simply everywhere.
Consumers are starting to grow aware of the of the amount of data collected by companies and institutions: according to Forbes, 69% of consumers are concerned about the amount of personal data gathered online (Goswami, 2020). However, these privacy concerns have not yet impacted much our online activity patterns: for example, a survey by Deloitte shows that 91% of consumers accept terms and conditions statements on the internet without reading them (Cakebread, 2017).
Some people argument that they have no fear of online surveillance or data privacy issues, because simply they have “nothing to hide”. But this argument is flawed: not having anything to hide shouldn’t mean not having the right to privacy, the same way as not having anything to say doesn’t mean not caring about free speech. Our data can be used by governments and companies in potentially non ethical ways, and this data is increasingly easier to obtain through some technologies: for example, in China facial recognition is aiding in surveilling the population to enforce the law and is programmed to automatically flag the faces of ethnic minorities to track their movements in detail (Hill, 2021). Another example, the Cambridge Analytica scandal that showed how data obtained from Facebook influenced the result of the US elections in 2014 (Nicholas Confessore, 2011). These are only a few examples of how the misuse of data can go far in terms of human privacy rights violations, and the impact that this can have in societies and entire countries.
In this context, companies have to be increasingly considerate of the use they make of personal data and the ethical and legal implications it can have. There is a rise in interest of lawmakers to regulate this matter, and there will be an increase in regulation of data privacy in the next years. Businesses will have to adapt their strategies to a more restricted use of consumer data as customers become more aware of their data protection rights, as we can start seeing in moves such as Apple’s removal of third-party cookies in their browsers, that Google followed with a statement promising to do the same by 2023 (Kris Jones, 2021).
Meanwhile, it’s important for everyone to become aware of the risks in data protection and keep in mind the individual responsibility in data sharing: remember, you might not have anything to hide, but there is always something to lose.
Sources:
Cakebread, C. (2017). Deloitte Study: 91 Percent of Americans Agree to Terms of Service Without Reading. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/deloitte-study-91-percent-agree-terms-of-service-without-reading-2017-11?international=true&r=US&IR=T
Hill, K. (2021). Facial Recognition: What Happens When We’re Tracked Everywhere We Go? – The New York Times. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/18/magazine/facial-recognition-clearview-ai.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Kris Jones. (2021). Disruption Required: A Privacy-First Approach To Navigating The New Third-Party Data Rules. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/09/16/disruption-required-a-privacy-first-approach-to-navigating-the-new-third-party-data-rules/
Nicholas Confessore. (2011). Cambridge Analytica and Facebook: The Scandal and the Fallout So Far – The New York Times. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-scandal-fallout.html?searchResultPosition=7
Goswami, S. (2020). The Rising Concern Around Consumer Data And Privacy. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/12/14/the-rising-concern-around-consumer-data-and-privacy/
Great post about data privacy. Personally, I am also among the group of consumers that just accepts the terms and conditions without much thinking about it. However, this has slightly changed recently and I started to at least read some of the cookies. In general, I think the data privacy landscape is entering an interesting time as Google announced to make third-party cookies obsolete on Chrome browsers by 2022. Luckily for advertisers, Google already delayed this decision to 2023. It will be interesting to see how advertisers can cope with this change and how user’s data privacy can be respected. I found a great article from Forbes that talks about this topic: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2021/06/15/what-is-the-future-of-advertising-in-a-post-cookie-world/?sh=3f3cf03e5f7c.
Overall, I think it is important to become more aware of your own data privacy. I totally agree with what you are saying in the last sentence.
I completely agree. Your blog post is not only well-written but also well founded.
The example you provide on China is interesting, especially because it is – in my estimation – an authoritarian and oppressive regime that is leading the country. In that sense, I am not completely surprised by the introduction of facial recognition software (although I concur that it is a worrisome development).
Also, the deeper question that I seem to missing in your post is how an awareness of the importance of (data) privacy can be achieved among consumers and companies alike. It is a pressing and highly germane issue that we face these days. Yet what I wonder is what could be done, if anything at all can still be done? For example, it is clear that data is invaluable because it provides so much information that can be used both for benign as well as malign purposes. Clearly, the tech giants’ interests are misaligned with that of virtually all humans. Firms such as Facebook want to maximise our time-on-sight (i.e. the time we spent on their various apps) so that they can gather as much data as possible, which in turn can reveal information that is highly valuable. Most of the platform’s users, on the other hand, have different goals than spending all day on Facebook (although that is exactly the sensible thing to want from Facebook’s point of view).
The point I am attempting to make is that there appears an urgent need for a new conversation about the different goals, interests, and motivations of different actors in this playing field (e.g. Instagram vs its users). Arguably, it seems that before any real change can occur, the established tech giants need to make changes to their business models (for otherwise their will always remain perverse incentives). Yet at the same time, it seems to my eye that it looks fairly gloomy as any sense of urgency appears to be lacking.
Thanks for the interesting article, Carmen! I am also interested in Data Privacy matters these days, and your in-depth research was really helpful to deepen my knowledge. A few years ago, I had an experience that someone stole my photo (but used it as an SNS profile) and how I came to knew the situation was by hearing from one of my friends. She was playing an online game, and the randomly matched counterparty with an old guy’s name was using my photo as his profile. Through this shocking and creepy experience, I locked my SNS into friends-disclosure only and blocked any suspicious followers from my social network. Indeed, keeping my private data from crime or misuse seems hard during this digital age. Everything online can be easily copied and reproduced in different ways, which I hate to be. I strongly agree that there must be a regulation of data protection both in legal and company bylaws to prevent the injudicious use of each person’s invaluable data.
This is such a well structured and substantiated blog Carmen!
I agree with your analysis of how privacy concerns are not only to be seen in a vacuum, but also in context of pther things like freedom of speech and expression. I feel that as more people gain access to affordable technology, the higher the awareness of privacy concerns will be. We can already see the influence of this in legislature like the GDPR for the EU and in businesses, like Apple’s recent Opt-out default setting for personalised ad tracking.