Research Methodology Description Describe the case study, qualitative research, and your data collection method into a 1-2 page research methodology. Write your research methodology as a stand alone d
Running Head: SOCIAL NETWORKS DATA PRIVACY POLICIES 14
Social networking data privacy policies
Ali, S., Islam, N., Rauf, A., Din, I. U., Guizani, M., & Rodriguez, J. P. (2018). Privacy and Security Issues in Online Social Networks
Social media are networks used for communication between data owners and viewers in virtual communities. The world has hence become a small global village; as a result, accordingly, information is shared seamlessly regardless of the geographical distance between people. There are, therefore, numerous social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, just to name a few, and with the help of the internet, people can link and communicate in real-time. When connecting with people from mobile devices, there is data that could be retrieved, indicating the location information and metadata embedded in the machines. Malicious users can hence retrieve this information and leverage it against other users.
The author makes it clear that with the new technology, presently, there is a lot more information available with the growth of online virtual communication platforms. Virtual networking platforms have changed the way people interact. People are always on their mobile devices browsing through social media sites, which is progressively attracting hackers and other cybercriminals. Due to this high usage, there are serious data security and privacy threats are facing social media users. The author is affirmative that the majority of the users are always sharing a lot of their personal information online, putting them at significant risks of the numerous methods of attacks.
This article is rather informative as the author is rather vocal about the reasons why people are continually being targeted by cybercriminals and made victims of attacks. It, therefore, clear on specific policies and strategies which one may implement to prevent them from falling victim to cyberattacks. One should refrain from sharing too much information on social networks, using real names when creating online profiles, and accepting friend requests from suspiciously looking accounts. Social network users must be keen and take the time to read the privacy statement before agreeing to the network's terms and conditions when creating reports.
Sarikakis, K., & Winter, L. (2017). Social Media Users’ Legal Consciousness About Privacy. Social Media + Society
Social network sites are on the upward trajectory, and they are still continuously growing with every mobile user in the world having been connected to an average of more that one social network. Social networks are mainly common among young adults aged between 18 years and 29 years. Users are becoming more comfortable sharing most of their personal details, which significantly challenges the social norm of privacy. The social model has hence become somewhat obsolete. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which is a non-profit organization that defends the rights of people in what is now being termed as the digital world, social networks were previously a free form of communication people, but it soon transformed into a platform within which by default, most of the users' information is made public hence users are being targeted by partner websites for advertisements.
The author articulates that in matters concerned with privacy, there are technological architectures that push to invade privacy and force people to disclose certain information about themselves. Similarly, in as far as one's cultural level is concerned, privacy has progressively become an obsolete quest that has been turned to become a monetization prospect in the protection of privacy. There is hence a disparity between the firms owning the social networks and users in as far power is concerned. Social networks are, therefore, constantly negotiating privacy policies to determine the degree of privacy allowable in social networks.
It is then abundantly clear that privacy has not been adequately defined. It was previously thought that privacy meant having limited access to individual information. In recent times, privacy has hence become a commodity rather than a right. It thus exchanged as currency s exchanged. The state has thus intervened whereby to prevent loss of information is in exchange for security; hence market actors have capitalized on it as it is now categorized as a need.
Loftsgirdon, A. (n.d.). Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal highlights the need for new privacy laws. Social Media and Your Privacy Rights
Facebook and other social networking sites collect large loads of data that social network users voluntarily provide. This includes; one's age, relationship status, location, and even employer. Similarly, in collaboration with other websites, social networks can now track other sites that one visits and the various applications one is linked to. From this information, social network firms can sell this data to advertising firms for target advertisement. From face value, this sounds practically harmless. Firms such as Cambridge Analytica has, however, been improperly acquiring this information from users on social networks. This then creates some doubt in the ability of internet companies to regulate themselves as far as user privacy is concerned.
When signing up into social networks, one is required to agree to terms and conditions drafted for that specific network, which determines one's rights to privacy as opposed to the federal and state laws. Unless one agrees to the site's terms and conditions of the privacy policies, one is restricted from using the site. From the plans, depending on the social networking site, it is often indicated the limits of areas of utilities within which the firm can operate and manipulate acquired information.
Social networking sites are showing minimal to no measures being taken to protect the user’s information. From the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it became apparent that there are barely adequate measures in place to protect users’ information. Privacy rights are constantly being infringed upon as it is now being used in exchange for other products and services hence being used as a form of currency. Many users, however, barely see the harm in it; therefore, they least worry about the privacy of the information. This has caused an uproar in the public as they now suggest that due to the incapability for social network owning companies regulating themselves, there is a demand that laws be passed, and lawmakers are in a better position to protect social media users.
Lindsey, N. (2019, February 3). New Research Study Shows That Social Media Privacy Might Not Be Possible. CPO Magazine.
Many have articulated that the easiest ways to prevent social media sites from profiling and to track your information are through deactivating and subsequently deleting your social media accounts. Researchers have however, articulated that removing one's social media sites is still not enough. One's information can be trailed based on their interaction with peers. Based on one's friends, there is a lot that can be articulated about a user. Even after deleting one's online accounts, previous interactions with people and subject on the virtual online platform has already been encoded. From the study, if these attributes, nearly accurate predictions can be made regarding a user.
From this article, the author further articulates that one’s privacy is not entirely based on an individual’s personal choice. Therefore, privacy over online virtual networking platforms is more or less subtle as there are many factors to consider before one's information is said to be secure or not. Friends often could jeopardize one's privacy by sharing certain pieces of personal information regardless of their efforts to keep themselves safe. It is from this point that the Cambridge Analytical scandal became a reality. Through the friends of friends approach, Cambridge Analytica gained access to over 300,000 people’s accounts from an initial count of 53 users only.
For many, cyber-attacks may seem quite alienated to them; however, there are still barely enough measures being implemented to prevent them. From social media networks, it is clear that numerous avenues could be manipulated to gain access to a user's information. Cyber attackers and other villains have a wide range of attack avenues to gain unauthorized access. There is therefore, an urgent need for virtual social networks to find an immediate solution to data privacy as the implemented policies to safeguard its users are still substantially inadequate to protect online user activities.
Kuczerawy, A., & Couder, F. (n.d.). Privacy Settings in Social Networking Sites: Is It Fair?
This paper puts to record the privacy settings in Social Network Sites. Many people have, in the past, suffered due to pictures that have been misinterpreted after being posted on networking sites. There are numerous networking sites in recent times, causing massive exposure to one's life. People do not seem to realize the threat they put themselves into after posting pictures online, as now people tend to feel considerably comfortable with posting pictures that are viewed by all sorts of people. This has hence become a social norm in recent times. There is an increased exposure of the public to the internet that is now beyond one's conscious choice.
The author articulates that in recent times, people are of varying opinions on how much information show be shared and how much should be maintained as private. All social networking sites use the internet as a mode of connection where one meets family members, workmates, friends of friends, and even people we do not know. Often sharing of information, as indicated by the authors, only leads to unwanted disclosure of certain information. Many people least show any remorse in oversharing of details as they often disregard the threat at hand.
Most users have been indicated to least use the privacy setting in social networks to eliminate the number of unwanted disclosures. One can limit the visibility of their profile or specific information. It is evidently clear that every little aspect that one posts online can be used against them. Sites such as Facebook offer several options to tune their privacy settings based on the user's preference. It is rather prudent that most users lack contextual integrity when availing of their details online. This hence endangers them by putting a mark on them, making them subject to attacks and victimization. Many view privacy settings made available to users as access control, yet they are meant to distinguish people who can view one's posts based on their social roles.
Beye, M., Jeckmans, A., Erkin, Z., Hartel, P., Lagendijk, R., & Tang, Q. (n.d.). Literature Overview - Privacy in Online Social Networks.
Social networks are receiving a lot of attention in this day and age. Users are allowed to upload content and communicate with other people within the same platform. Due to the public nature of social networks, users share various aspects of their lives with people. The internet may not entirely be termed as private as there is a broader audience of people who can have access to one's content via the online platform. Some online social networks however, lack adequate personal privacy available to users to limit the number of viewers who have access to their online content.
There are various types of social networks ranging from dating networks to business-oriented, all of which provide a seamless connection between people. When sharing information over such systems, one must consider the possibility that there may be some undesired behavior that may result. With the power to fine-tune which people have access to content and information posted online, users with the help of privacy settings on the socializing network can set the visibility of their profiles. Certain socializing systems provide a few more additional options hence ticking a few boxes on what information to disclose openly. With the privacy function, as articulated by the author, grants control of the visibility of their profile.
From the privacy setting, users can protect themselves with the most basic of measures available to them. Filtering one's profile visibility, social network users can regain the power to prevent too much disclosure of information. Data privacy may be quite a challenge for many service providers, but from the contextual requirements of data privacy of online content users may still possess a little power in limiting who can view; however, there are other factors that may need to be considered to entirely limiting one's visibility such as friends of friends access among others.
Aldhafferi, N., Watson, C., & Sajeev, A. S. (2018). PERSONAL INFORMATION PRIVACY SETTINGS OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS AND THEIR SUITABILITY FOR MOBILE INTERNET DEVICES. International Journal of Security, Privacy and Trust Management, 2(2), 1-17
With information and communication technology being a significant determinant in the networks in the Society, online interactions have been greatly affected as there are security and personal privacy concerns to be considered. Most social networks still lack adequate security mechanisms to keep its user safe. With the use of essential measures such as privacy settings, some of the personal information can be granted access or restricted to specific people based on the user's preference. A common feature for most social networks is limiting access to all people below the age of 18 years.
The author articulates that with the increase in information and communication technologies, there is a significant impact on the relationships of mobile device users. Communication in recent days mainly takes place over the internet. For most users, however, the greatest challenge is in protecting their data, which significantly threatens their trust and confidence in the security of their data. Recent innovation articulates that firms such as Google and Facebook are continually advancing the security features in their online social networking platforms. From the article, it has hence been articulated that the privacy and security responsibility ought to be given to the network users to grant and block access to other users' access to their inline profile.
Information privacy is a complex issue and should be taken with substantial consideration to keep users logged into an online networking site safe. Often, many users lack adequate understanding of the severity of the issue at hand; therefore, online contacts will often misuse certain personal information and leak it to unwanted crowds of people hence compromising information security. A lot can be lost in the event that data is breached after an attack is launched on a user’s online account. The efforts by online network firms are hence zeroed.
References
Aldhafferi, N., Watson, C., & Sajeev, A. S. (2018). PERSONAL INFORMATION PRIVACY SETTINGS OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS AND THEIR SUITABILITY FOR MOBILE INTERNET DEVICES. International Journal of Security, Privacy and Trust Management, 2(2), 1-17. https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1305/1305.2770.pdf
Ali, S., Islam, N., Rauf, A., Din, I. U., Guizani, M., & Rodriguez, J. P. (2018). Privacy and Security Issues in Online Social Networks. Future Internet, 10(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/fi10120114
Beye, M., Jeckmans, A., Erkin, Z., Hartel, P., Lagendijk, R., & Tang, Q. (n.d.). Literature Overview - Privacy in Online Social Networks. https://ris.utwente.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/5095526/literaturereview.pdf
Kuczerawy, A., & Couder, F. (n.d.). Privacy Settings in Social Networking Sites: Is It Fair? 6th International Summer School. https://hal.inria.fr/hal-01559469/document
Lindsey, N. (2019, February 3). New Research Study Shows That Social Media Privacy Might Not Be Possible. CPO Magazine. https://www.cpomagazine.com/data-privacy/new-research-study-shows-that-social-media-privacy-might-not-be-possible/
Loftsgirdon, A. (n.d.). Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal highlights the need for additional privacy laws. Social Media and Your Privacy Rights. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/social-media-and-your-privacy-rights.html
Sarikakis, K., & Winter, L. (2017). Social Media Users’ Legal Consciousness About Privacy. Social Media + Society, 1-14. DOI: 10.1177/2056305117695325
