Key Points From This Week's Readings

The underlying theme of this week’s readings is that in order to keep our personal information private, we have to be very smart. In fact, we probably have to be smarter than we ever thought we needed to be. As we saw in class with spokeo.com, our information is out there whether we want it to be or not. This is more than unnerving to a lot of people, and I think that the purpose of this week’s readings was to show just how vulnerable we all are to these kinds of privacy invasions. In my opinion, the key points from the readings are that Facebook is not as private as we think it is, and that companies are more than capable of using our online information to learn more about us.

According to Zizi Papacharissi, many people are once again thinking about their digital privacy, mostly due to Facebook changing its privacy policies in 2009. She states, “The revised, default architecture prompts users to be more public with their information. While it is possible for users to edit these settings, the code that belies the structure of the network makes it easier to share, than to hide information” (Papacharissi). I honestly do not have a problem with Facebook prompting its users to be more public; after all, that is what the site is for, sharing information with the public. But as our readings have shown, the trend seems to be an ever-growing lack of communication between Facebook and its users about just how much information is available for the taking. According to the Forbes article by Chunka Mui, a group of CMU researchers were able to discern a great deal more information from people’s Facebook accounts than they probably intended. In his article he states, “Drawing upon previous research, they (CMU researchers) were also relatively successful at guessing individuals’ Social Security numbers. From there, of course, it is just an automated click to your Google profile, LinkedIn work history, credit report, and many other slices of private information” (Mui). For me, this crosses a line, and it illuminates the key point that we should all be more careful about what we post on the web.

This leads to a second key point from the readings: Just about anyone, from potential new employers to advertising companies, can view our online activity and use it to their advantage. According to Leah Betancourt, author of “How Companies Are Using Your Social Data,” there is really no limit to who can view someone's online data, as long as they have the resources to obtain datamining services (Betancourt). She states, “Entities such as airlines, politicians, and even non-profits can use this data for finding new customers or targeting products to existing ones. Financial services companies such as banks and lenders are also using the same datamining services for marketing purposes and to make lending decisions” (Betancourt). Some view this behavior as beneficial, because it allows advertising companies to target their ads so that they are more relevant. To others (like me), it’s just offensive, because there is a great deal of generalization and guesswork that goes along with that.

My own personal take on privacy is that if something says it is “private,” then it should be. My Facebook profile is set to private because I want only my friends to be able to see what I post there. Advertising companies are not my friends, nor are the many datamining services available to just about anyone. I may be a little paranoid, but my sister had her identity stolen two years ago and is still fighting to get everything straightened out. Everyone that has helped her with the situation has said that the individual probably obtained all of her information from the web. The only online profiles she had were a Google account and a Facebook account, which was set to private. Still, as our readings have shown, Facebook and Google are not the only offenders. According to the article, “Facebook Retreats on Privacy,” “Myriad online services and companies are developing sophisticated tools for observing people's behavior online and profiting from the personal information they provide. In recent months, the FTC has been signaling that privacy is on the top of its enforcement agenda” ( Angwin, Raice, and Ante). It’s comforting to know that the FTC is attempting to fight this battle, but the problem is, once our information is out there, it’s there to stay. My stance on privacy is that at this point, it’s in our own hands. It is our responsibility to not post anything on the web that we wouldn’t want everyone to know.