Preview

Privacy on Social Networks

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2354 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Privacy on Social Networks
Privacy on Social Networks

Tasdiq A. 11/4/2010

The privacy issues surrounding social networking sites are nothing new by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems that many people have mismatched expectations when it comes to privacy and social networks. Social

Network Sites (SNS) are websites that allow users to upload information to a public profile, create a list of online friends, and browse the profiles of other users of the SNS. The websites have membership rules and community standards. Users disclose identity-relevant information via their profile to others. This information is referential, directly referring to a person, or attributive, describing attributes to the data subject. Although most laws and regulations restrict the access to referential information, attributive information is not protected as such. However, the aggregation of large amounts of attributive information on SNS profiles poses new privacy risks, disclose identity-relevant information via their profile to others. Also, the privacy options in social networking sites do not work out in the way they are supposed to do.

Keep your private life private!
What does social network do? In real life, you have a circle of your friends. But what about their friends? And the friends of the friends of your friends? You can get to know people from literally any part of the world. That means you are sharing information with them. And that also means you are sharing a lot of information that you don't want to share! Information spreads faster through a Social Network Site than through a real‐life network. Information might be disclosed to a group of people unexpectedly, because the digital information is easily copied, can be stored indefinitely and is searchable. It especially harms users when information travels through different social spheres, and ends up with people whom it was not intended for. People have been fired, missed out on job interviews and academic opportunities, and been



References: http://www.priv.gc.ca/ https://www.privacyenforcement.net/ http://www.netatty.com/privacy/privacy.html http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/boyd.ellison.html http://privacyinsocialnetworksites.wordpress.com/ http://www.lifehacker.com/ http://www.jahne.com/information-and-removal/social-networking-vs-privacy/ http://www.facebook.com/terms.php http://twitter.com/tos http://www.myspace.com/help/terms Created by Tasdiq A.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Since the dawn of civilization, man has sought to further communication and interaction with his fellow man. The motivation behind this pursuit has been many fold: Some sought and seek this interaction for economic purposes, some for cultural purposes, and some still for educational purposes. Regardless of the incentive, different people in different times have sought to enhance the technology so as to further this pursuit. From the advent of writing in pre-bronze age Mesopotamia to the creation of the printing press in Renaissance Germany to more modern inventions like the radio and telegraph, much of human history has been devoted to making this large world smaller and smaller and furthering our communication and interaction. In this vain, society invented the internet, possibly the most revolutionary piece of technology in human history. Like the other aforementioned innovations, the internet provided man a medium to communicate with his fellow man. Yet, the internet furthered the pursuit of shrinking the world so much that thanks to it, physical distance is a small hindrance in the free exchange of ideas and opinions. One of the major disciplines constructing internet based communication is social networking. During the recent years, social networking has been the victim of ethical issues concerning vigilance and safeguard of privacy for the members and their personal data. The invasion of personal information is a cause of distress for many individuals and organizations. Moreover, it has become an issue that requires constant effort from the concerned parties who are striving to create a safe and comfortable environment for everyone to communicate on these social sites. During the course of this paper some ethical issues regarding the social networking sites such as Facebook will be discussed and the decision making process will be implemented to explore alternatives and implement the solutions.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Now that technology is becoming more advanced, many individuals feel the need to expose every action and thought they make to the public. Social network users are constantly updating their profiles with posts, pictures, and videos; and at the same time other members are peeking at what is being posted. Ordinary people can easily be searched and found on the…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is always strange and amusing to see the amount of personal information that people post online for the world to see. They post anything that goes through their mind, their feelings, their wants and needs, their plans, etc. I personally feel like not everything needs to be shared on social media. Hundreds of people don’t need to know what you’re eating, your current location, what is going through your mind, or how you’re currently feeling. Some people have more than a thousand friends or people following them, and most of the times, they do not personally know half of them.…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people consider privacy to be important because they do not want others to know personal information about them or anything that would harm them in any way. Total privacy is critical to individual users, but social media users have enabled not only to interact with people they care about, create new connections and widening our networks, but also enable to easily and instantaneously obtain relevant news updates. We can say that privacy is overrated because social media platforms are mainly used for sharing and interacting. Nothing is secret unless shared by oneself so we do not expect secret information to be shared on social media profiles and status updates, yet some still do. Today you do not even have to talk to someone to know who they are, instead visit their profile on a social media such as Facebook or twitter and you know who they are, what type of person they are, where they have travelled and who they are friends…

    • 1755 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Privacy seems to encompass everything, and therefore it appears to be nothing in itself” (Solove, 2008, p. 7). It is an oversimplification to define privacy as all what an individual owns. With the evolution of new technologies nowadays, it is very hard to define privacy because it varies from one person to another and from one culture to another (Solove, 2008). With the rise of social networks during the last decade, new views about privacy started to emerge due to its special mechanism in sharing information. Social networks enable users to instantly share information, thoughts, photos, products and videos with the many users in the network at once. Unlike other means of communication, the information in social networks can spread to hundreds of users in seconds. Then, the users who received the information may share it among their network, and then further to other networks, which will end up in spreading the information to millions of people in no time, just like a chain reaction. This new mechanism of sharing, which is becoming faster every day, raised new concerns about privacy among individuals and organizations. In spite of all these concerns about the personal privacy on the social networks, social networks websites are the most visited websites in the internet. For example, Facebook has reached 901 million monthly active users in April, 2012 (Hachman, 2012). Although social networks enables an easy sharing of private information about individuals or low profile information about organizations, individuals and organization should not be afraid of using social networks due to privacy concerns, and instead they should be more public and utilize the social network.…

    • 2270 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Social networks are a fun way to communicate, interact with friends, and enjoy online schooling, but are also harmful due to the harassment of cyber bullies and predators. Social networks/medias show their good side when we are all having fun on them, communicating with our friends. It is a fun and interactive way to converse, and meet new people; it gives people opportunities to learn characteristics that they have in common with each other, and make stronger relationships. Some people use Facebook, Twitter, and even Myspace to communicate with their friends; usually it is to make them aware of what you’re doing, going to do, or already have done, and meet new people, all through a fun, inventive way.…

    • 2000 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Annotated Bibliography

    • 1370 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Social networks have emerged as one of the most significant and innovative invention of the last decade that have erupted the whole world and led the new generation in a new direction. The online social networking has enhanced the communication system and made it more flexible, easier and comfortable to use. This new technology has been serving the world in multiple ways and has created new opportunities for young people to initiate small startups, provoked multinationals and local firms to utilize this medium as a source of promotion and multiple other benefits besides enhancing communication. The way online social networking sites are being utilized is quite clear, but the objectives of every person are different. However, this new technology has transformed many things but has some adverse effects as well.…

    • 1370 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    sociology

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Social networking sites tend to encourage most people to be public regarding their personal lives which ultimately lead to lose of privacy. Most of information on social networking sites is public meaning anyone with an internet connection can access it. Social networking sites often require one to submit personal information such as name, location, age, gender, images or photos and contact details. In some of the sites, people share information about with whom, where and what they are doing. Publicizing such information is risky considering one cannot know whether it falls into the wrong hands or not. This lack of anonymity exposes one to countless risks and breaches a person’s privacy. As one is a friend, who also has a network of friends, a person’s information and uploads can be shared and re-shared with strangers, not the initial recipients. Nothing posted on social…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    “If you feel like someone is watching you, you're right … If you're not doing anything about this anxiety, you’re just like almost everyone else” (Sullivan, 2011). Social media is the new essential. Socialization, entertainment, and information source for a huge amount of people. It is almost in every area in daily life and the data entered is growing rapidly day by day. The question is who receives these data? What do they do with it? May it be harmful? These questions must have occupied almost everyone’s head at least once and it is not out of nowhere. Social networking sites have several privacy gaps that may be a threat for the personal privacy of users.…

    • 1204 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    This all may seem harmless but actually, is just the opposite. In fact the interaction a person has with a social network is increasingly being used against more and more people each day. According to Lori Andrews, a law professor and expert on social networks and privacy and author of I Know Who You Are And I Saw What You Did. She identifies the web as a “lawless frontier of hidden and unpredictable dangers” (27). In her book she discusses how by opening up about our personal lives in the social world we are subject to surveillance not only by the government, but also by employers, schools and even lawyers. A common trend Andrews is seeing is that colleges and employers…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Privacy Issus in social networking sites have become a controversial and much publicised topic since the creation and increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Linkdin, Twitter and the currently most used social networking site, Facebook. Such as stalking, identity theft, sexual predators, Data mining are Some of Privacy Issues in Social Media. as well as Issues are Increasing Quickly. On the Other Hand We can Have Lot Advantages From Social Media. This Research Paper is Going to Analyze Both Site.…

    • 2651 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social network (SN) site users seem to be unaware that they are, in part, responsible for their own privacy on these sites, or simply have no concern about that privacy. They are therefore shocked when their privacy is invaded. Users today DO trade some privacy for the convenient communication available on the Social Network sites. These sites DO NOT offer privacy to their users, unfortunately, they merely offer policies and settings that the user is responsible for finding and handling. Seeking out and reading the privacy policy, using the privacy settings, taking care when sharing photos, personal views, and what comments are made, the concerned user could retrieve some of the privacy they feel they have lost.…

    • 2181 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social Media Debate

    • 1143 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “A Tale of Three Social Networks” by Pinghui Wang, spends a lot of time explaining to the reader how the social media is set up and how they interact with each other. The authors state that the more users allow OSN’s to interact and connect your different accounts, the more at risk you are for privacy leakages. Research shows that if you make your account private on one account but public on another, anyone can access your information on both accounts. The authors suggest that OSN’s allow users to make their information private and not allow accounts to be found by looking someone up on a search engine.…

    • 1143 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Privacy concerns for users of various social media sites were a sensitive issue. Some users of Twitter, along with competitors such as Facebook, Google Buzz, and MySpace were concerned with how secure the personal data being provided to the social sites was. Also concerning was how a social media site may chose to sell user’s personal information for a profit to third parties. Most social media sites, Twitter included, had experienced negative publicity as a result of security breaches…

    • 1209 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the more disturbing ethical infringements on personal privacy is the use of Facebook profiles in employment screening. According to a new survey, conducted by CareerBuilder, thirty-seven percent of companies use social media to research possible job candidates (Hunt and CareerBuilder). This new method of employment screening is a clear infringement on the rights of job candidates. When discussing the possible misuse of social media information, it is important to differentiate between public and private information on the Internet. Many companies, who have used Facebook and LinkedIn for information in their recruiting process, argue that it is ethical because information on the web then is deemed public information and is available for any use desired. This might be true for individuals who leave their profiles completely unprotected and open to public networks. However, protected profile information can be argued to be private information. When a Facebook user posts personal information on their profile and then limits that information to a specific network, such as their school or friends, there is a logical belief that this information should be considered private.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays