Post Seven
Privacy is something you will always have to think about when using the internet. With technology advancing, there are very few things we do that don’t involve the internet. Smartphones and social media have changed our daily lives because many of us are posting our lives online. When using social media apps like, Twitter, Instagram, etc, you are trusting those companies with your personal data. As recent events have shown, not all companies should be trusted with your personal data.
About a year ago, news broke that the company, Facebook, had been sharing its users’ personal information with other companies. It was even announced that Facebook had been sharing users personal data since 2014. They had special arrangements with 150 companies including Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. BBC News reveals one of the many arrangements Facebook has with other companies in their article, “Sony, Microsoft, and Amazon could access members’ email addresses via their friends.” Sharing personal e-mail addresses is a huge violation of privacy that Facebook users did not give consent for. During trials, Facebook argued that privacy has no price and users affected should not be able to sue them unless this violation of privacy caused them any additional harm. When asked about the issue of internet privacy, many think the problem is hackers online. This scandal revealed that hackers online could actually be the companies you use every day and trust.
The business world has changed as technology has advanced. Marketing has evolved the most. Marketing went from phone calls and billboards to digital and personalized advertisements. Target Marketing, a tactic that tailors advertisements for a specific consumer, is the new form of digital marketing. Companies collect consumer personal data, e.g. your product search history, and use it to create personalized online advertisements. Opinions on this tactic vary from person to person. Some consumers believe this is a violation of privacy because companies are collecting and sharing your data and some consumers enjoy targeted advertisements because it helps them find products they’re interested in online.
Not being able to trust companies with your personal data and the use of personal data for target marketing are the two main reasons why you should be rethinking your privacy on the internet.
The Question
What steps should the United States Government take to help protect consumers privacy on the internet?
The United States Government needs to enact a federal internet privacy law that will better consumer protections. With the internet evolving at a fast pace, this law needs to have flexibility.
The Main Problem
Not being able to trust major companies is the main reason the U.S. needs a federal internet privacy law. When you log onto social media or shop online, you may not know you’re giving companies permission to access your personal data. Tim Wu writes in his NY Times article, “They hold themselves out as trustworthy, enticing us to share our information with them […] without making it very clear that everything is being recorded.” Companies don’t make it obvious that they are collecting your personal data. Although this might seem like a violation of privacy, there is actually no federal law protecting all of your personal data from being collected or shared.
Collecting the data isn’t even the worst part, it’s what the companies do with the data after they have collected it. Some companies collect consumer data solely for the purpose of advertising, but others have been caught thus revealing business arrangements involving sharing data. Major companies, like Facebook, have been caught doing this and the users affected received no help at all. In January 2019, Neema Guliani wrote in her NY Times article, “Facebook is fighting the lawsuit by trying to get the court to buy into troubling arguments that would make it even more difficult for consumers to sue lawbreaking companies for damages.” It is hard to bring justice to a privacy violation when you’re up against a successful, well-known company that has access to better resources than you do.
Privacy Laws
The U.S. needs a new online privacy law because the last privacy act was passed in 1974. The internet has changed a lot over the past 45 years and this privacy act does not protect consumers from the dangers they’re facing today. The U.S. is also one of the only countries that don’t have a federal internet privacy law. In 2016, the European Union signed a new privacy law called the “General Data Protection Regulation” and it’s one of the most influential pieces of legislation in the EU’s history. David Meyer writes in his Fortune article, “The GDPR serves two main purposes: to harmonize data privacy law across the EU and to make sure the fundamental privacy rights of Europeans can be upheld in the context of the age of big data.” After this law became official, U.S. companies and citizens started to think about our country and how we don’t have a federal law similar to this.
The GDPR is setting a global standard for internet privacy laws. Some U.S. companies and firms are starting to comply with the GDPR for European trade so it would be reasonable and smart for the U.S. to have a similar approach. David Meyer also writes, “ […] the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. Like the GDPR, the bill […] gave people the right to know what data businesses hold on them, where it comes from, and where it’s going.” The GDPR influenced the state of California to pass a bill that allows users to know details about their data being collected by companies. This ensures honesty between the company and the consumer. This is a big step in the right direction and the goal is to pass a law that provides this protection for all users across the nation.
The Marketing Problem
Advertising is a huge contributor to a company’s success and the world of marketing has changed drastically. Digital marketing is one of the only forms of advertising used today and companies are always trying to improve their tactics. Target Marketing has become very popular and companies are hungry for your personal data. Linda Christiansen explains the risks that come with the Target Marketing method, “Increases in threats to personal privacy […] have prompted movement in the protection of private information collected by online methods.” Target marketing may benefit consumers by providing them with advertisements related to things they’re interested in, but any collecting of data can put you at risk of a privacy violation. Once data is collected, it is on the internet, and it is very hard to get rid of it. If your personal data gets into the wrong hands, it could be sold to other companies without your permission.
As I mentioned in the very beginning, major companies have been found guilty of making special arrangements and selling consumer’s personal data. If you allow a company to collect your data, you’re putting yourself at risk for privacy violations that are out of your control.
Counterclaim
Some consumers are supportive of Target Marketing because it helps them find things they’re interested in and it makes their online shopping experience fast and easy. Putting all opinions aside, studies show that target marketing is the most efficient form of advertisement. Linda Christiansen writes in her Science Direct article, “This is called target marketing, and while far more expensive per exposure […] it is also more lucrative in that it provides less wasted coverage.” Companies will pay more for target advertising because it is more effective and more successful. An online customer is more likely to click on an advertisement that is related to something they’re interested in, i.e. something they’ve searched for in the past.
The idea of Target Marketing isn’t bad, it’s the risks that come with it that lead us to be concerned about our privacy. Target Marketing can continue to be a successful advertisement tactic for the company and the consumer if laws are created to offer protection against the risks. Linda Christiansen continues with, “Internet marketing is clearly here to stay, and it should be legal and ethical, as well as beneficial.” There is so much free content on the internet and all of it is there because of its support from advertisers. Obviously, advertising is not going to go away any time soon, so it is appropriate to try and make marketing tactics safe and to adapt to the changes that come as technology advances. Right now the risks that come with Target Marketing outweigh the benefits but a federal privacy law could help improve this data collection process.
Conclusion
Advertising is everywhere and we can’t do anything about that. All we can do is learn from the past and try and make the internet a safer place. The Privacy Act of 1974 is no longer an adequate form of protection for users. The United States Government needs to enact a federal internet privacy law. This law doesn’t need to abolish data collection, it needs to enhance consumer protection against it. It needs to protect individuals’ privacy online. The law should have a balance between consumers’ privacy and a company’s right to ethically advertise. It should also have flexibility so it can still be suitable as the internet progresses and new privacy violations arise.
“Facebook’s Data-Sharing Deals Exposed.” BBC News, 19 Dec. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/technology-46618582.
Board, The Editorial. “Home Addresses Are Up for Sale. Time to Take Back Your Privacy.” The New York Times, 16 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/opinion/editorials/data-privacy-address-swatting.html.
Christiansen, Linda. “Personal Privacy and Internet Marketing: An Impossible Conflict or a Marriage Made in Heaven?” Science Direct, Elsevier, 13 July 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681311000899.
Guliani, Neema Singh. “We Should Be Able to Take Facebook to Court.” The New York Times, 7 Jan. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/opinion/facebook-privacy-violation.html.
Jerome, Joseph. “Illinois Supreme Court Issues Powerful Statement on Our Privacy Interests in Biometrics.” Center for Democracy & Technology, 28 Jan. 2019, cdt.org/blog/illinois-supreme-court-issues-powerful-statement-on-our-privacy-interests-in-biometrics/.
Meyer, David. “In the Wake of GDPR, Will the U.S. Embrace Data Privacy?” Fortune, 29 Nov. 2018, fortune.com/2018/11/29/federal-data-privacy-law/.
Ponder, Jayne. “GAO Report Calls for Federal Privacy Law.” Inside Privacy, 24 Feb. 2019, www.insideprivacy.com/data-privacy/gao-report-calls-for-federal-privacy-law/.
Wu, Tim. “An American Alternative to Europe’s Privacy Law.” The New York Times, 30 May 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/05/30/opinion/europe-america-privacy-gdpr.html.
