Why is Privacy such a contentious issue for internet users? Discuss with reference to at least ONE social network service (or other web 2.0 service).
Privacy concern is a major problem for social network users; however it is not a new issue. Before the digital age of technology and prior to the invention of social media sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, young people were concerned about who knew their confidential information. If we look back to when we were school kids, we were concerned if the secret we told our friend would sneak out in the school playground or classroom next door to us. Still to today, each individual is obsessed with privacy. This essay will discuss why in our technological age, privacy has become such a debatable issue, due to concerns with the internet and social networking. This essay will discuss a social networking site commonly used by children, teens and adults such as Facebook and the growing concern for privacy.
One of the major problems for social network users is privacy concern. Social network users try to protect themselves against any unwanted attention or information by changing the settings on their network to be more restrictive, such as only letting their friends see their information, photos and discussions. The changes are designed to make the user feel in control of over who can view their profiles. Despite these measures, there is an increasing concern that social networking sites do not protect the privacy of their users. Facebook, which is a leading social networking site allows you to upload personal content and photographs to their individual profile. Once data is uploaded, it is a blur as to who owns this data and what the data can be used for. When users open their account on Facebook the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities claims that the data is owned by the user, but follows up by saying that Facebook actually reserves unlimited access to the data; ' you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook' (Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, section 2). Concerns have been growing because it means that personal information is being used by Facebook, which makes users feel extremely unsafe.
Social networking sites have changed the way young people in Australia interact. According to influential social media researcher Danah Boyd 'Socialization is forced to shift out of shopping centre’s and parks, and into "network publics" (Boyd, 2007) Social networking is the "in “thing to be in and apart of for young people today; not participating can make one feel isolated. The media has played a huge role in bringing the privacy on social networking sites debate to the forefront of our attention. This month the Courier Mail ran a story about Facebook, headlined “Queensland Premier Anna Bligh speaks out on the unsuitability of Facebook for pre-teens" this story explains how the Premier advises parents to be vigilant as children may pose as adults to sign up for a Facebook account. Social networking in Australia is extremely popular. Social Media news discovered that 'On a per capital basis Australia has one of the highest uptakes of social media in the world.'
Internet privacy involves the mandate of personal privacy concerning transactions or transmission of data via the internet. A number of experts within the field of Internet security and privacy strongly believe that privacy doesn't exist; "Privacy is dead- get over it" ( Rambam, 2008).
Privacy is a contentious issue for internet users as each individual tries to keep their personal information 'personal and confidential', however internet users, especially Facebook users are applying their personal information on their profile. Facebook is a fast paced growing network site that a change happens almost every few months, such as privacy settings, photo uploading processes and applications. A new application for Facebook was launched in 2010 which allows Facebook to keep a track record of the whereabouts of its users. The applications Places allows the users friends and networks to view where they are in the world. As the application first arrived, users were excited and used it often. As time went by and still to today, users have felt unsafe and turned the application off. The only concern is that the application does not turn off completely; instead it continues to keep a track record of where their users are when they log in to their account. In the Privacy Policy section, Facebook states, when you access Facebook from a computer, mobile phone or other devise, we may collect information from that device about your browser type, location and IP address, as well as the pages you visit (Privacy Policy, section. 2).
When it comes to the internet, privacy is always a concern when you are spending time on certain sites. Facebook is one social networking site which has landed itself in some hot water over privacy of late. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Facebook (and a number of other social- networking sites) have been sharing users ‘personal data with advertisers. The problem is that this data is being shared without the users ‘knowledge or consent. In a recent article, Facebook was discussed in a negative light stating that the issue of privacy within Facebook was first raised in August 2009, by researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and AT&T Labs, but Facebook chose to ignore their concerns. That is until the Wall Street Journal stepped in, and then the site's stopped sharing the data.
In 2009, Facebook changed their Terms of Services, and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. The changes that were made were interpreted as allowing Facebook to hold rights over the content its users upload onto the social networking site, even after the account is deleted. The online community erupted, and created groups to condemn these changes; individual users were demanding rights over their own content. Facebook were then forced to revert to the original wording in the Terms of Service. Since then, users of the social network service have been left curious because who owns the data that they have uploaded onto the social network service? In the last year, Facebook has slightly changed their Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which has allowed them to use the users content for advertisements, and for Facebook to keep a track record of where their user is in the world, from using the application Places. It is no surprise that Facebook users are starting to feel unsafe when using the social networking site. Facebook seems to know everything about their users from their personal details, what they look like, what they are doing on a regular basis and finally where they live in the world. Facebook does have the right to collect all this information from its users as it is stated in the Terms of Services, and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
Privacy is and will always be a major concern for all internet and social networking users. Facebook is used daily by many users and has all data that is uploaded by the users into the site. As Facebook stores the data that is uploaded, however it does not distribute any personal information about the user to other businesses. As we upload content to Facebook, it simply means Facebook has the right to see our content and a track record of everything the user does in their online life. Facebook can hold huge amounts of information, since Facebook cannot be deleted, only deactivated, it is only a matter of time before the Terms of Services and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities change. Facebook will have the right to distribute all private information from activated including deactivated accounts. The issue of privacy and risk on social networking sites such as Facebook is only predicted to grow further in the near future. Parents and young people should exercise caution and utilise privacy settings so they can successfully use these sites without threat and realise the social rewards from using them.
