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(Second Revision, Ready for Review) | | | -- By YuShi - 16 Nov 2009 | |
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< | It is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to find people my age who do not use Facebook or Google. These two services have become such a part of young people's lives that they are now both nouns and verbs, and one who does not own a Facebook or Gmail account risks the stigma of being labeled a social anomaly. Despite the ubiquitous presence and widespread use of Facebook and Google, however, people still do not have an adequate understanding of privacy risks that such services pose. In this essay, I first discuss the average person's understanding of Facebook and Google privacy options, then explain the latent but grave threats that are not apparent to the average user. | >
> | It is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to find people my age who do not use Facebook or Google. These two services have become such a part of young people's lives that they are now both nouns and verbs, and one who does not own a Facebook or Gmail account risks the stigma of being labeled a social anomaly. Despite the ubiquitous presence and widespread use of Facebook and Google, however, people still do not have an adequate understanding of privacy risks that such services pose. In this essay, I first discuss the layperson's understanding of Facebook and Google privacy options, then explain the latent but grave threats that are not apparent to the average user. | | |
The Facade of Privacy: What the Average User Knows | | | The Evil That Lurks Beneath | |
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< | Unfortunately, the average user is missing the point and overlooking a real source of danger. Yes, one can block his neighbor from seeing his Facebook profile, and sure, one can hide his profile from people who are not his "friends." But who is there to prevent FACEBOOK (and that includes people associated with the company, people with whom Facebook does business, etc) from having access to your information? It is certainly not the average user who naively posts everything about himself on Facebook, thinking that he has painstakingly adjusted his privacy options so that his profile is off-limit to strangers. That is tantamount to guarding the front door when the thief is already inside, and leaving the backdoor open. The people at Facebook knows more about you than you can imagine. Want proof? Facebook can predict whom you will date. They probably also know if you are gay, even if you do not tell them. If one thinks these information will always and forever be kept confidential, then he must have forgotten that Facebook is a for-profit company. | >
> | Unfortunately, the average user is missing the point and overlooking a real source of danger. Yes, one can block his neighbor from seeing his Facebook profile, and sure, one can hide his profile from people who are not his "friends." But who is there to prevent FACEBOOK - and that includes people associated with the company, people with whom Facebook does business, etc - from having access to your information? It is certainly not the average user who naively posts everything about himself on Facebook, thinking that he has painstakingly adjusted his privacy options so that his profile is off-limit to strangers. That is tantamount to guarding the front door when the thief is already inside, and leaving the backdoor open. The people at Facebook knows more about you than you can imagine. Consider this: Facebook can predict whom you will date. They probably also know if you are gay, even if you do not tell them. If one thinks these information will always and forever be kept confidential, then he must have forgotten that Facebook is a for-profit company with a spotty record of respecting privacy. For example, as recently as last year Facebook had this to say about third-party applications: "Facebook does not screen or approve Platform Developers and cannot control how such Platform Developers use any personal information." Essentially, anyone could create a Facebook application, obtain your data, and use it in whatever way he wanted. | | | | |
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< | Then there is Google. Try looking at the "Web History" section under "My Account." You will probably not like what you see. Are you really comfortable with this omnipresent spy tracking every step of your internet search activity? If you use Gmail, you must have noticed the advertisements on your Gmail page. How do you think these ads are chosen if not based on the text of your emails? Does the thought of having your emails perused by others trouble you? Well, all the emails you have on Gmail have been read by Google's computers. Maybe at this time you are comfortable with having your emails read by an insentient being, but understand that your email address is now associated with certain keywords. The potential for abuse is overwhelming: what if Google compiles a list of email addresses that are associated with certain keywords and send them to a third-party or the government? That might cause, at the very least, some embarrassment. | >
> | Then there is Google. Try looking at the "Web History" section under "My Account." You will probably not like what you see. Are you really comfortable with this omnipresent spy tracking every step of your internet search activity? If you use Gmail, you must have noticed the advertisements on your Gmail page. How do you think these ads are chosen if not based on the text of your emails? Does the thought of having your emails perused by others trouble you? Well, all the emails you have on Gmail have been read by Google's computers. Maybe at this time you are comfortable with having your emails read by an insentient being, but understand that your email address is now associated with certain keywords. The potential for abuse is overwhelming: what if Google compiles a list of email addresses that are associated with certain keywords and send them to a third-party or the government? That might cause some embarrassment in the most mild cases, and perhaps legal trouble in the more serious instances. | | |
So What? |
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