How Private Should An Individual’s Data Be?
Is it fair that big companies make money on our data? A popular question many people struggle with today. In recent years scandals have caused powerful countries to pass laws that limit or prevent the spread of misinformation and the usage of our private data. The biggest contributor to this movement was the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica lawsuit. I believe there are pros and cons when it comes to companies using and having access to our data. However, there is a fine line between how much data we should be able to share with big companies like Google and how they should use your data.
How Is Sharing Our Data A Good Thing?
A large population of the world is concerned about how their information is shared on the web. What some of those people do not realize is that sometimes companies must access our content in order to provide us with a better and more accurate service. Companies like Google and Facebook depend on user’s data. This is because of three reasons: their algorithms were built on access to user data, access to data keeps their information updated, and they cannot serve us properly if they did not have access to your information.
I believe many people would agree with me, it saves us time and is pleasant to have articles of interest pop up first when conducting a Google search or logging into Facebook. It is nice to search for something online and have what you are looking for pop up first, this makes your search easier and user friendly. Google has managed to gather and organize millions of sources in a way in which each individual will is served with relevant information first.
On the other hand, news outlets depend on Google or other search engines to share their news. Many people tend to search for a topic of interest and then land on their desired news outlet via search engines. Search engines generate a great number of views for news sites. However, this doesn’t take away the fact that there are many “fake news” sites on Google and other search engines that feed people misinformation.
My Idea Of The Fine Line
In my opinion, there are some companies (few) that do need to use our data in order to provide better services. The idea of companies making money with our data is tricky because many of them want to stay on top of the game and start using our data in ways that are not right. Companies must be clear and transparent when asking us for access to our data and must also keep it to themselves.
When Is It Not “OK” For Companies to Use Our Data
There are many companies out there that only want to give users access to their sites after the user has accepted to share their data. I think this is not good practice. Many of these sites provide us with information we need or want and in exchange, we agree to share our data even though we do not really want to.
Other companies ask us to share our data in a sneaky way. Some ask us to check a small box. Others provide their privacy terms in a font we cannot even read. This makes the user unsure of what they are consenting to and when in a rush we usually do not have time to read very small print or do not notice what we are clicking on.
One of the biggest invasions of privacy I do not agree with is that social media sites like Facebook and Instagram have access to all our information, including our pictures. Have you ever searched your name on Google and had an old Facebook picture of yourself show up? When creating an account on these social media platforms, we grant them access to everything we share and post on their site. Many of us are not okay with this but consent to it because everyone we know uses these platforms. Having people’s pictures surf the web is something dangerous and can easily get in the wrong hands.
My Final Argument: If you want access to user information, be clear about it. Keep it within the company and use the information to make your site better.
