Data, what is it, and why is keeping it private important? Data can be understood as the traces of our digital footprint that we leave behind whenever we do something online. It can be explicit, like your name, address, or banking information we enter whenever we purchase something online, or it can be inexplicit, like the collecting of metadata [informationlike to who you send messages, how long it takes them to reply, or who you frequently tag in photos or posts] through our actions on sites such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, or Instagram.
Everything we do online generates data and can be stored by companies offering these services. Let’s take Facebook for example. They may have explicit data about you, such as your name, email address, where you live or study, and who your friends and family are. All this information we offer up willingly. But Facebook also collects vast amounts of the metadata that we generate. This metadata serves essentially as data on the data that they have already collected. Facebook might know that John Smith is your uncle, because that information was explicitly given to them. But Facebook can also predict if you and your uncle John are close, based on how frequently you interact with each other on the platform. Through collecting the metadata on how frequently you interact, or how long it takes for either of you to respond, Facebook can create a pretty accurate picture of what your family dynamics are.
Every time we Google something, browse an online store, send messages, or like and share a post companies are collecting the data that we generate. But what exactly do they do with this data, and why should you care? In short, companies use the data that you generate in order to advertise products and services to you. Your location data can mean that they are able to show you targeted adds of businesses in your area and your Google searches can be used to tailer adds that increase the likelihood that you will buy something or sign up for a service.
Targeted ads aren’t the only uses for the data that we generate, companies can also use the data that we generate by feeding it into complex algorithms that seek to increase the amount of time that we spend on these platforms. Through increasing the time we spend on Facebook or YouTube, companies can collect even more data and show us even more adds. The problem with this model is that it seeks to optimise the amount of time we spend online, and unfortunately, the best way to do that is to show us increasingly more polarising and extreme content. There exists a direct link between the current business models of technology companies and growing extremism in the world.
The data that these companies can collect is virtually unregulated. In many cases, they can store the information long after you’ve stopped using the service. They are also in many cases free to sell and share your data with third parties, including the government.
Data privacy is the answer to these issues. Data privacy laws can ensure that no one can have access to your digital identity without your consent, it can ensure that no bad faith actors can acquire your data and use it for nefarious purposes, and it can ensure that your digital self enjoys the same rights as your real-world self does. Leaving data privacy regulations to companies is like leaving bank safety up to bank robbers. It is a fundamentally flawed idea that the very companies who make billions of dollars collecting, sharing, and selling your data should be responsible for ensuring that you have a right to data privacy.
The business model of these large technology companies has had real-world impacts. The Insurrection on the sixth of January in the United States was fundamentally a result of a lack of data privacy. Companies such as Facebook recommended users increasingly more extreme content to keep them engaged. So extreme that white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and ordinary Americans showed up to the seat of democratic governance in the richest country on earth with the intent to capture and execute elected members of Congress. A lack of data privacy empowers authoritarian regimes across the globe to crackdown on dissidents and pro-democracy advocates, enabling their capture, imprisonment, and even executions.
Small steps can become massive leaps over time, and demanding that government take action to protect our digital selves is becoming increasingly important, but telling the bank robbers that we know they intend to rob the bank can also scare them enough so that they would backtrack their plans. Letting these giant multinational corporations know that we demand data privacy is important to prevent a slow descent into a privacy-devoid future where your entire identity can be bought and sold without your consent.
By:
Zander Niemand
Amnesty Stellenbosch: Vice-Chairperson
