Shared Data

Information shared has double since the creation of the world wide web, computers and smartphones. In recent times, there are so many networks and systems connected to the internet and sharing data between each other. Some of the data shared are encrypted, such that only the person authorized to view the data can have access to it, while other data are not encrypted, which creates a loophole for hackers to the information individuals send. This occurred when there was a huge intrusion into Equifax customer details. There was an unauthorized activity on the network that impacted personal information relating to 143 million US customers, social security numbers, birth dates, address and driver’s license. [1] There are numerous information being shared every minute, majority of people in the world use Facebook every day to catch up with our friends, post activities of our day, or listen to the news, then sometimes they are likely to visit Amazon to buy an items of their interest, or sign-up for an online saving account because they offer the best APY. Individuals do all these things without ever thinking that their information could be hacked or shared to other third-party companies to use their personal information in targeting an ad towards them or convince them to vote for a person during an election. Early this year, the whole was taken by shock when they found out about how Facebook shared personal information, likes, and post to Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica analyzed this information and categorized them into – psychographics and demographics. [2] Another instance was the election [https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/russia-trump-and-2016-us-election interference carried out by Russia], spreading fake news on Facebook about different political parties. All this news, led to the stock of Facebook to drop by 8%, and other companies as well as individuals to delete their Facebook accounts. Though this might have been a good move, it is a useless move as majority leave their data footprint everywhere – apps, websites, smart watches etc.

Large companies such as; Facebook. Google, Snapchat, Amazon, etc, hold so much data about us. In some cases, they can predict our next action. For example, Samsung can predict the time when someone wakes up and when the person goes to sleep. The algorithms these companies are developing are getting better at predicting an individual or suggesting an ad to you that would cause you to click. Facebook owns WhatsApp, a popular communication app, and Instagram, which is identical to Facebook but with a different UI (user interface). Google knows what people search for on the internet, where they live, their jogging routes, favorite restaurants, and office or school location. Google tracks location to suggest a shop or restaurant nearby. People have had an experience of my their own and sometimes scares them initially. For example, majority book a ticket using their gadgets and upon arriving at the airport, Google directs them towards their departure gate and every other information. Snapchat knows the best ad to target its users with, so they make some purchases especially trending products. Amazon has information about people, for instance, their address, credit card number and in some rare cases social security number. Sadly, there is no way of stopping these companies from getting information, unless they permanently move to a location that has no connection to the internet.

To conclude, everyone should be worried about the data these companies hold about us. If not protected properly, they could be stolen by hackers who constantly try to breach into their databases where our information is stored. Or our data can be used by this companies to make more profit. If there is a limit of the amount of information majority share online, it would help in reducing one’s own privacy.