As the world has grown and evolved, we have advanced far enough into comfortable means for survival that we can focus our innovative technologies on accessibility, efficiency and convenience. As I’m writing this column, I am waiting on my dinner that I ordered online at the touch of a literal, single button. We become better at being human with every passing year.
However, optimization comes at a cost that we do not often consider: our privacy. As the information age has come into full swing, the minuscule details of our private lives have become a valuable currency for advertising and tech giants. Profiting from data mining is easier than ever before. Because we spend so much of our time online, it is up to us to make sure that we are releasing our personal data in a smart, safe manner, and that we are making it very clear that it is unacceptable to utilize our data beyond a reasonable extent.
Signing up for any kind of platform, making any sort of purchase or even completing a mundane clerical task on the internet contributes to the worldwide collection of data that is mineable and profitable. Companies make inferences based on our browsing histories and this data allows them to advertise their products in such a way that you are forced to interact with them and frequently find something you deem worthy of your time and money. Surely, no developer of the world wide web anticipated this automated and largely effective breed of advertising, nor did they expect that it would become a vehicle for damaging crime on a massive scale.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg recently released an apology statement because Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, improperly accessed the personal information of millions of users and kept it rather than destroying it as expected. This major violation of user privacy has driven yet another nail in the Facebook coffin. Users will leave the service, but it has become such an integral part of our daily lives that for many, it is nearly impossible to completely unplug.
The idea is frightening. With data breaches of several major companies such as Target, Equifax, Uber and Yahoo surfacing within the last few years, it’s enough to make you want to slice up your credit card, cancel your Netflix account and retire to a cabin in the woods. Unfortunately, we have to press on in our daily, highly digitized lives, and we can only make a few changes to our online routine to assuage our worry. Companies know this, and as a result, have little accountability to correct highly volatile situations.
Because the information age has advanced technology so quickly, cyber criminals have become among the most dangerous in the world. With instant gratification and two-day shipping comes a wide-open door to your financial records and your identity, and open season on a criminal making money from your personal data.
The typical internet user spends little to no time considering the implications of their online access because they don’t have to. Being plugged in makes us faster, smarter and more informed than ever before. The bargaining chip for that kind of innovation is all of your personal records and information. We have made our choice and there is no way out of it.
The titans of the industry know that we are more than willing to make the trade-off. With every passing day, tech moguls become wealthier and wealthier as direct benefactors of your most sensitive information.
Clearly, we are in need of massive regulation within the tech industry. Because the internet is still very young, we have a long way to go before we decide the extent to which Congress should regulate online media companies and provide protections for our information.
Until then, consumers should be wary of where and how they release their information, as nothing online is truly safe from theft. Because the internet is so deeply intertwined with our daily lives, there’s no abandoning it or removing every trace of your existence without severing yourself from societal norms. Instead, we must put pressure on our elected officials and tech gurus alike to consider the implications of their inaction and innovate in their respective fields for the well-being of Americans, not just for profit.
Emma Royal is a sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering. Her column runs biweekly.
