Dehumanisation of Human Privacy due to Loss of Internet Privacy

In today’s world, computers have essentially implemented themselves into almost every internet capable technological device, including but not limited to smart watches and virtual reality. These devices track the entity’s internet activity without their knowledge, thus invading their privacy. Due to this state of continual surveillance, the users of this consumer society are forced to abide to the general masses and abstain from abnormal activity, restraining their behaviour and resulting in their loss of individuality through the fear of garnering attention. This method of acquiring personal information nullifies diversity and creates a presence of an authoritative figure, dehumanising those who are affected. Legal jurisdiction must be enacted to strongly limit or eliminate the intrusion of internet privacy. With articles, novels, and essays, our group of concerned students hope to raise awareness of this treacherous privacy our society is losing.

In order to understand the importance of the lack of internet privacy, understanding privacy as a natural human right that has been instilled into society is vital beforehand. Privacy has planted itself as an integral right in many of today’s societies, causing its potential distraction to be destructive to both the citizens and society combined. Adrienn Lukacs, a PhD student from the University of Szeged studying law and political sciences, discusses the importance of privacy in history, outlining Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis’s famous article The Right to Privacy, stating, “They recognized two phenomena that posed a threat to privacy: technological development (namely instantaneous photographs) and gossip, which became a trade in newspapers.” These very phenomena correlate to how American society serves as a flawless portrayal of a society that greatly values individual privacy, as justified by the plentiful amount of court cases throughout American history that have worked to accurately define it. Personal privacy is presumed by many and is not much of a subject for discussion, much less perturb about. However, the sudden advancement of technologies allows a person’s privacy to be compromised in numerous methods. Lukacs questions the current regulation on the Internet of Things (a connection between computable devices to send and receive data) privacy, asking “where were all these innovations at the time of the creation of the existing regulation?” This consistent infringement of an individual’s privacy overturns values that keep them safe and allow them to maintain private information and endeavours to themselves. Because of current regulations, the collective Internet of Things must be greatly managed and restricted to conserve both the individual’s rights and the nature of a proper society.

The use of technology has risen throughout the twenty first century catching the eye of especially the younger and newer generation. With over 3.8 billion people around the world constantly using the internet today, it is vital that digital citizens take precautions when freely roaming the internet. We live in a world where data theft allows “personal data like videos, documents and photos are stolen digitally” for purposes such as the information being “resold or distributed for illicit purposes.” Although this may not be a common issue among the people who do not own businesses or contain anything of value digitally, this is of utmost importance to large companies who are at risk when large quantities of data such as customer information , private projects or even trade secrets come out to the public or even the wrong hands. Shea Laverty, the author of the blog Why is Internet Security Important points out that “Without any online defense, you leave yourself open to be a victim of fraud, theft and even property damage.” Laverty goes in depth of the importance of internet security by addressing that “everyone is a potential target” as not only the government and large corporations have to fear this cruel act.

As customers constantly use the internet, companies easily track their activity and collect personal information about their customers. Internet users are constantly being monitored as they move across the web and do not realise how much information they provide about themselves. When accessing the internet, companies use cookies which allow them to “track you as you move across the web.” Through the use of cookies, companies can see what type of ads customers visit and what they buy online, as well as accessing the content of their emails. Although customers may see any harm in giving out information about themselves out to companies, Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse explains that they “don’t really care until something happens to them personally” and once their information gets tracked and stolen, they finally “realize how little control they have over the world.” This control customers have over the world ultimately show how important it is for customers to realise that they are constantly being watched and tracked by many companies, causing the loss of their individuality, thus dehumanising them.

With more technological devices being created almost every year, it is easily forgotten that just like diving, the use of technology must have a compliance with the law as well. Many of the online internet users enjoy shopping online, thus creating accounts that store their private information such as birthdays, addresses, and credit card numbers. The United States Government Accountability Office stresses that “it is crucial that the security of these systems and data are maintained” as they continuously rely on computerized information systems along with electronic data. John Matis, creator of the blog Why is Security so Important emphasizes that not only internet hackers pose a threat to sensitive information, but also natural disasters. “Physical security in a data center “is proven to be effective as well as “cost and time efficient as well”. Natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes and tornadoes can eventually harm data centers as well. It is said to frequently check for building maintenance to avoid any problem in the future.

Solution

We currently live in an age where it is nearly impossible to actually hide information we put onto the internet. This must be kept in mind while making possible solutions. Because of the highly unregulated state of the internet, the first rational step to take would require the government to update law enforcement and restrictions on information allowed on the internet. The government then needs to enforce and uphold these updated restrictions. As the internet advances and new technologies are developed, the law must be changed accordingly. Each and every person who uses the internet should also be informed of these new restrictions and future restrictions in simple and short legal statements. These legal statements will make it difficult for internet criminals to steal personal information that is now harder to acquire.