By:
Neelormy Roy
(Image Retrieved: https://protonmail.com/blog/privacy-under-attack/)
Rapid development of
technology is changing the world around us, and one of the major concerns that
come along with technological developments is the issue of privacy. At the rate
that technology is advancing towards, it poses new challenges in protecting privacy
and personal information (Cakrani, 2013). Using technology has many positive
benefits, but also has several negative impacts such as privacy becoming
vulnerable when using the Internet or various mobile technology applications
(Cakrani, 2013).
As technology becomes
integrated into the lives of people, individuals are becoming more comfortable
and allowing technology to become more involved in their personal lives (Myhre,
2013). Privacy and protection of personal data are deemed as fundamental human
rights (Friedewald & Pohoryles, 2013). With all kind of devices and new
technologies that are relied on by people nowadays, privacy and personal data
have become a large concern for technology users. Since many people own at least
one type of technology device (whether that’s a laptop, cell phone or an IPad)
it’s important to realize how these devices are becoming intrusive in the
personal lives of people (Myhre, 2013).
Five Major Privacy Concerns with Current Technology
Storage of Personal
Information
Personal
information is constantly being gathered by personal devices because of people becoming comfortable with storing their personal details and information into
their devices whether its contacts, personal messages, photos, banking and
credit card details and so forth (Myhre, 2013). In today’s day an age, it may
seem normal to be storing personal information on personal devices, but it also
means that storing personal information in devices may not always be the
safest.
Location
Tracking
Most devices
that are used by people currently have location tracking features and applications
that are included in devices (Myhre, 2013). Applications ranging from Google
Maps to Facebook, all use location-tracking features to display your location. Although
location-tracking features and applications are useful and fun to use, people
have given up their privacy to let the world and other big companies know
people’s whereabouts at all time (Myhre, 2013).
Surveillance
in Homes and Workplaces
With recent technologies
that are making a place in people’s homes and workplaces (such as Google Home
and Amazon Echo) it has been quite simple to invite big corporations into
personal spaces and invade privacy and collect personal data (“3 Ways the Invasion of Privacy Takes Place
Today through Current Technology”, 2017). Although the purpose of these devices is to be home assistants, they are basically ears that have the ability to record, store and report sound within the environment which includes conversations that take place (“3 Ways the Invasion of Privacy Takes Place Today through Current Technology”, 2017). Large corporations can use this kind of data that is picked up and recorded by these devices to create tailed advertising according to the users' preferences.
Tracking
Online Activity
Not
only are current technologies able to track locations, personal devices can
also, track online activities through tracking cookies or data that is collected
through websites and saved on web browsers (Myhre, 2013). Tracking cookies can monitor
online activities and web history, which can lead to users seeing personalized advertisements based on their browsing activities. Tracking cookies also have the ability to save personal information and details like addresses, passwords and credit card information which can fall into the hands of hackers and be misused (Myhre, 2013).
Identity Recognition
Audio recognition features are not the only threat to privacy, but with most devices having a fitted camera it is important to consider video recognition features as well. An example of this is facial recognition applications that can be found in personal devices. The existence of facial recognition features in devices means that an individual's identity can be matched with online social media platforms (“3 Ways the Invasion of Privacy Takes Place Today through Current Technology”, 2017). This can be done without necessarily having consent from users.
References
Cakrani, E. (2013). Technology and Privacy, Internet Effects on Privacy. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4(9), 279.
Friedewald, M., & Pohoryles, R. J. (2013). Technology and Privacy. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, (26)1-2, 1-6, DOI:
10.1080/13511610.2013.768011
Learning Mind. (2017, November 12). 3 Ways the Invasion of Privacy Takes Place Today through Current Technology. [Blog post] Retrieved from https://www.learning-mind.com/invasion-of-privacy-technology/
Myhre, J. (2013, August 20). Technology is Invading Our Privacy. [Blog post] Retrieved from https://www.dmnews.com/data/blog/13043155/technology-is-invading-our-privacy
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