Has the Increased Proliferation of It in Our Society Changed the Way We View and Value Our Perceptions of Privacy

Has the increased proliferation of IT in our society changed the way we view and value our perceptions of privacy?

With the recent proliferation of IT in our society especially the increase in online activities there has been a change in our perception of and a growing concern about our privacy. The explosion of social media sites, where personal information is readily available, and revelations about data mining, both by corporations and governments, has provoked debate about privacy and the selling on personal information. Security breaches in which an outside party gains access to confidential information also causes concern about how privacy is maintain in an increasingly online world. However as people become more technological literate they are finding solutions to their concerns about privacy while still being able to take advantage of all the benefits that new technology offers.

Social Media concerns
Social media sites have grown rapidly since their introduction. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Tumblr and Reddit have attracted millions of users, many of which used multiple social media sites as a part of daily life. Many social media sites support pre-existing social networks whilst also allowing for introduction to new people with similar interest, beliefs or activities. For this to occur, personal information has to be exchanged. This information however can be used for purposes other than it was originally intended. Data mining for market research, phishing scams and bullying or harassment, both online and in real life, are some of the negative uses that information from social networking sites can be put to.
Social network sites have a vested interest in maximizing the amount of information users put up. This is mainly an economic position; the more status updates and personal information gets disclosed the more traffic and therefore more advertising revenue. The quality of the information is also an issue as targeted advertising becomes more prevalent. This provides a conundrum for the provider and advertisers. ‘As the site becomes more attractive to advertisers it becomes less appealing to members who see highly-targeted ads as invading privacy.’ (Nielsen 2009, p. 5). As users become more informed of what is happening to their data they want to know how their personal information is being used. Targeted advertising is not just limited to social media. Information is collected about search histories and sites visited. As users become more informed about what information is available about them and how it is being used, they seek ways in which to have more control over these events. Due to feedback from users in 2009 Facebook implemented a raft of improved privacy settings. Lewis et al (2008) seems to agree as they find that more active users of social media are more likely to have private profiles. Applications developers are also constantly creating applications due to user demand. Like the web browser extension Ghostery, that blocks the webtracking activities, from such programs as Google Analytics, which are interested in behavioral data. People can control the distribution of their personal data provided that they are informed and given tools, like software or privacy setting.

When personal information is available with a social group there is a potential for the information to be used to bully or harass. Access to the information is often combined with the ability to communicate with the victim almost constantly. This absence of privacy, even when away from the social group, can be a major issue. In recent times there have been several well publicised cyber-bully instances. Phoebe Prince, Megan Meier, Kenneth Weishuhn and Chanelle Rae are just some of the cases of cyber-bulling that have made headlines. Because ‘risks may also arise from the teenagers’ limited internet literacy combined with confusing or poorly designed site settings, leaving them unclear regarding their control over who can see what about them.’ Livingstone S (2008), organisations and government initiatives dealing with the problem of online bullying have started to take shape. Cybersmart is an Australian Government educational program that is designed to educate parents and teachers as well as children about cyber safety issues. It also aims to give information and practical advice to empower people to be safe online. Part of this education focuses on personal information and the representation of self in social media. The uses of new technologies such as camera phones or hidden cameras have also contributed to a change in the way we perceive privacy. When our actions can be recorded and posted to video or photo sharing sites, without consent, change the way in which privacy is viewed. This has lead to both positive and negative consequences. Instance of abuse have been captured on camera phones, such as the racial motivated attacks in Balmain (ABC News 2013-06-26), that have given police not only evidence but, because it went viral, had help from the public tracking to the abuser. The flipside of this is when someone is recorded in a private act and that footage is post without their consent like in the ADFA Skype Scandal (The Sydney morning herald, 20110408). Both of these incidences show that the expectations of privacy are changing and while this can have positive outcomes, care and empathy must be taken to insure that people are not exploited.
Because of the amount of personal information that is available on social media attempts to acquire information such as passwords, usernames and bank or credit card details by people pretending to be friends, acquaintances or people representing companies your involved with are made. In these attacks, phishing, the information is often gathered from social media sites where the privacy settings are not well designed or not implemented by the users. Once gathered this information can be used for many things including further invasion of privacy or criminal activities. ‘We now know that social networks are an easy way to improve the effectiveness of attacks by a quantifiable amount. By anticipating this and other kinds of contextual phishing attacks, mitigating or preventative measures can be designed to limit the damage incurred’ (Jagatic, Johnson, Jakobsson, and Menczer, 2007).
Social media is a powerful tool but because of its very nature, the socializing aspect, personal information is more available than ever before. This personal information is also now viewed as a tool to increase social networks. To do these effectively, without risk, users must be educated about the dangers and know counteract them effectively.

Government Surveillance Concerns
Government attitudes towards privacy in regard to new technology appear to have less value then older forms of communication. Traditional invasion of privacy by governments is still much frowned upon. Conversely governments seem to have little compunction in the surveillance of the internet. Governments such as China have long been accused of invasions of privacy in regard to the internet, not only in of its own citizens, such as political dissidents, but also of international targets, such as Google and US Veterans Affairs. However due to disclosures by Edward Snowden (The Washington Post 06/06/2013) it has come to light that other governments have as little regard for privacy as China. The ‘PRISM’ program run by the USA National Security Agency (NSA) and the ‘Tempora’ program run by the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) reveal a change in attitudes by governments to privacy by the way in which personal communication was monitored. The public reactions to the revelations by Snowden show that there is a difference between the way in which government and the public view privacy and what a government should be allowed access too. Governments while having some legitimate reasons for surveillance, such as crime, must be careful not to unnecessarily invade people’s privacy. Transparency of procedures and governance are important steps to insure abuses don’t occur.

Security breach Concerns
Due to concerns over privacy many internet sites, especially commercial, have a security system. These systems have developed over time to meet changing needs as threats to people’s privacy become more sophisticated. There have been many cases of personal data being obtained by unauthorised parties. The Sony Playstation Network, TJX Companies Inc. and the US Department of Veterans Affairs are some of the biggest cases of personal data. Theft of data causes not only significant financial losses for the organisation that is breached but also potential for financial losses, identity theft or at the very least inconvenience to people. While these were big cases of data theft, there are lots of smaller instances where invasion of privacy as lead to similar problems. Identity theft being a major concern as it can lead to more invasions of privacy as incorrect attribution of events to the victim, such as bad credit or fraud. In the Sony Playstation Network hacking although Sony could not be sure about whether or not credit cards numbers and expiration dates were stolen enough other information was taken that identity theft was a concern (The Sydney Morning Herald 2011-04-27). The responsibility for the security of you personal information rests on both the user and the organisation that holds the data. The user must have passwords that are not common or easily guessed from information about the user that is in the public domain. The organisation has to provide sufficiently robust software that can repel malicious attacks as well as be staffed by trustworthy people who would divulge sensitive information.

Conclusion
The change in perceptions of privacy due to the increase of use is double edged sword. With a dramatic increase in the number of people participating in social media personal information is more freely available. This can allow for deep connections or expanding of social circles. However it is also open for abuse. Users must be informed about consequences of personal information being in the public domain. As well as being given the tool to enable themselves restrict access to their personal information to trusted parties. Governments also have rights and responsibilities when it comes to privacy. They must tread a line between invasion of privacy and surveillance of legitimate targets for public safety. Also as they hold large amount of personal data they must provide security to stop it being obtained by unauthorised parties. Security is also a concern for commercial or private organisations. Sensitive personal information such credit card numbers can be beneficial, making online activities such online shopping more convenient. The perception of the value of privacy is less allowing for a more open interconnected community and as long as there are controls and informed usage the dangers of this can be minimised.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-26/woman-charged-over-racist-attack-against-student-on-bus/4782344
Acquisti, A., & Gross, R. (2006). Imagined communities: Awareness, information sharing, and privacy on the Facebook. http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/ Jagatic, T., Johnson, N., Jakobsson, M., & Menczer, F. (2007). Social phishing. Communications of the ACM, 5(10), 94–100.

Lewis K, Kaufman J, Christakis N (2008) The taste for privacy: an analysis of college student privacy settings in an online social network. J Comput Mediat Commun 14:79–100

Livingstone S (2008) Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression.

Nielsen Online (2009) Global faces and networked places: a Nielsen report on social networking’s new global footprint. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf http://www.smh.com.au/national/adf-no-school-for-scandal-houston-20110408-1d7ro.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html