Introduction
In the era of social media, millions of Internet users post individual information in their accounts and share personal data. However, this practice of free use can have negative aspects, and one of the most significant of them is the invasion of privacy. Today, despite the existing data protection laws, cybercriminals, tracking companies, and social platforms themselves can utilize the information posted by users for their purposes. At the same time, control over the leakage of such data is difficult to maintain due to the limited influence of the responsible authorities on the owners of large media corporations. They, in turn, modify corresponding online platforms to suit their interests. Providing users with secure access to social media services should be an integral part of the policies of these websites. In this regard, one can assume that the tightening of regulatory practices at the legislative level concerning the issues of the invasion of privacy and personal data leakage may help address the current gaps successfully.
Relevance of the Issue
The invasion of privacy is one of the crucial problems associated with social media. Numerous popular services, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, are equipped with an interface that allows users of other accounts to receive information about a particular person freely. Despite the fact that some platforms have protection from prying online visitors, people can still find out basic information about a person, for instance, his or her place of residence, email address, or date of birth. This means that an individual cannot count on full protection. Moreover, according to Black et al., many users share information about themselves without knowing the possible consequences (145). In this regard, one of the possible solutions is to regulate the issues of access to the accounts of other users within the framework of legal assumptions. If a person is not ready to share individual information and intends to protect one’s online profile, the media platform should provide such an option. Otherwise, a user can apply to the appropriate authority for the owner of this social network to satisfy such a claim.
Another reason why the invasion of privacy is a relevant issue that needs to be addressed properly is the use of data by others for personal gain. At the same time, this concerns not only hackers but also colleagues or managers. Many social media platforms require a user to enter additional information upon registration, as a rule, an email address. As McFarland and Ployhart remark, “never in history has it been so easy for an employer to learn so much about an employee or potential employee” (1672). Thus, regulating the problem of preserving identity in social media through the introduction of special regulatory practices and legislative frameworks is a step towards reducing the frequency of utilizing personal data without the user’s knowledge. Online platform owners need to keep confidential information secret and closed. Any names and logins are potentially valuable to fraudsters, and people have the right to count on the fact that third parties will not be able to possess such information.
Using Personal Data Without Permission
Another problem associated with the threat to the private data of social media users is the collection and placement of individual information on third-party servers, for instance, by tracking companies. This practice is widely used by marketers who, in an effort to learn more about the preferences of the target audience, collect the necessary data without account holders’ consent. Such a method, as a rule, does not have severe consequences for users themselves, but in general, this approach may be considered a violation of confidentiality since many people may be opposed to their personal information becoming an object of mass use. According to Jones, marketers often place their advertisements on social media, but collecting information is an activity that needs to be legitimately controlled. As a regulatory method, the development of regulations governing this problem is an objective measure. Marketers, scholars, and others who work with personal data taken from social media are to have permission to conduct research. Otherwise, a user has the right to count on compensation from a specific online platform for the fact that its owners provide third parties with access to databases.
Third-party servers are not the property of the owners of social media, which, therefore, is not an objective reason to use these storages for profit. Different platforms require specifying a location and other individual data when registering, for instance, age. If site owners interact with third parties and provide partners with access to these data, users may not be aware of this. Thompson states that “now corporations have way more rights to users’ data than most people realize.” Despite the fact that such information is usually necessary for statistical purposes, any credible research involves obtaining consent from participants to process their data. In this regard, permission from users should be a mandatory aspect in case an online platform interacts with third parties. Policymakers should pay attention to this problem and develop a regulatory mechanism that would limit the rights of social media owners to transfer information about users to partner companies. According to Townsend and Wallace, “informed consent is a critical component of the ethics of all types of research” (6). Thus, if violations are detected, administrative responsibility should be imposed on resources that disregard the terms of confidentiality.
Threats from Cybercriminals and Fake Accounts
As evidence of the issue of poor control over data in social media, policymakers need to draw attention to cybercriminals’ activities. The distribution of malicious software to obtain individual user information is one of the consequences of an ineffective security policy. Since many social media accounts are linked to email addresses, cybercriminals can use this option to steal private content and gain access to multiple contacts. For instance, as Thakur et al. note, phishing emails are a form of illegal activity that Internet scammers use to gain access to user data (42). In this regard, social media platforms are to implement effective tools and algorithms for tracking suspicious activities and providing customers with quality services for the safety of their personal data. If email addresses cannot be unlinked to accounts, additional controls and authentication mechanisms are required. Although, as Stanford states, malicious emails, as a rule, can be recognized by their obscure addresses, an inexperienced user may not suspect any trick and become a victim of scammers. Relevant legislation governing providers’ liability for noncompliance with these terms of service can help protect users and their individual content.
Another threat comes from fake accounts that are often created to get the necessary data from users. According to Small, “scammers can hide behind phony profiles on social media.” In case the administration of online platforms detects suspicious activities that users report, this is an objective reason for blocking such accounts and contacting the relevant authorities to bring cybercriminals to justice. Due to advanced tracking technologies, today, fraudulent acts can be quickly blocked by identifying malware distribution channels and banning the addresses at which fake accounts are registered. However, the lack of an unambiguous background for determining responsibility for such violations is an obstacle to productive regulation. Vishwanath notes “the challenges of creating a legitimate request” to identify scammers’ activities and bring them to justice (93). Users can face the conventions of the social media account administration system when the collected evidence base may not be sufficient to report fraudulent activities. This gap is largely due to insufficiently advanced legislation concerning the control over Internet fraud and, in particular, the distribution of content from fake accounts. Therefore, promoting effective legislative initiatives is an objective solution to address the current gap.
Modern Data Protection Features: Alternative Position
Despite the existing threats to privacy in social media, one can pay attention to a wide range of useful software that is designed to ensure security. Sharma mentions “graphical authentication, watermarking feature, an encryption technique, approval of friendship request,” and some other options to provide protection against fraudsters and the theft of personal information (22). Modern social media administrators monitor suspicious activities and block those accounts that, as users note, distribute obscure content and utilize phishing technologies. Moreover, today, there is responsibility for cybercrimes, and in the case of proof of illegal actions on the Internet, administrative and criminal liabilities exist. This allows assuming that protection mechanisms are applied to ensure the security of user data and control the online field.
Refuting Argument
Despite the aforementioned methods of controlling cybercrime and data breaches, the current legislation in this industry is underdeveloped. Suciu cites the results of the study and notes that about 50% of the surveyed respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the existing privacy terms and were forced to update their security settings regularly. In addition, while different firewalls and encryption keys can help reduce the risk of personal data leakage, these security elements do not provide absolute protection against fraudulent activities. The existing legislation considers only obvious cases of violations that entail the theft of personal information and a threat to confidentiality. However, there are no strict policies that govern liability for the use of user data by third parties. Therefore, updating the legal framework and attracting the attention of interested authorities are significant objectives to implement to create a safe environment for interaction among people in social media.
Conclusion
Strengthening legislative practices regarding the issue of invasive social media and drawing the attention of policymakers to this problem are the essential aspects of ensuring user data security in this Internet environment. The analysis of the existing gaps proves that, despite modern encryption algorithms and instruments blocking suspicious activities, online privacy remains at risk. Phishing attacks, the use of private information by third parties, the theft of personal content, and some other problems require addressing at the legislative level. Thus, the involvement of the responsible authorities in combating fraudulent and illegal activities in social media is one of the tools for optimizing this information field.
Works Cited
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