Social Networking: Connecting the World, but at What Cost? - Essay Sample

Introduction

For the past few decades, there have been significant advancements in social networking. Many platforms have emerged with the primary goal of connecting people across the world and by offering fast and convenient communication with clients, families, and colleagues. These social networking platforms can be used for social or business purposes, especially through sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, among others (Hajli and Lin 111). However, there have been concerns regarding the security of these platforms and how they lead to the violation of an individual's rights.

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Most of the social networking websites like Facebook and Instagram require a new user to give personal details before signing up. Some of the information that a user is required to fill up includes one's address, gender, date of birth, and relationship status (Black, Stone, and Johnson 115). There are several reasons why a user is required to provide their personal information before they can register in certain sites. The primary reason why data is required is for the websites to earn money through advertisements. All the social network websites earn their income through advertising various products to their users (Black et al. 116). The more time users spend on a particular website, and the number of ads they view means that the sites generate more revenue. However, for the ads to earn money and continue to be developed, personal data of the users is required.

However, the security of people's data is at risk of being compromised, primarily when their information is used for other purposes. Such a case occurred in March 2018 when Cambridge Analytica illegally harvested more than 87 million personal data from Facebook users (Moustaka, Vaia, et al. 285). In its defense, Facebook explained that it was simplifying its privacy settings so that users could have a limit of the personal data they would like to share on the platform. After the scandal, Mark Zuckerberg admitted that his organization had not done its best to protect the data of over 2.2 billion users who are registered on the site.

There are various security concerns registered by users who use different sites. Due to the information submitted to such websites, malicious people can trace where a person lives, where their children attend school, or where they work, among other details. Other people feel uncomfortable that the government reads and analyzes their personal information submitted on social networking websites. One of the significant concerns is that the information being assessed by the government may potentially limit an individual's freedom (Mansour 348). Although the fourth amendment of the United States constitution forbids law enforcers from seizures without a warrant, the government is not limited to make follow-ups of people in the streets or through their information published on print media. The government's freedom may be extended to following people's conversations on social media since it is a public platform (Mansour 349). The fourth amendment also advocates for search and seizure. However, the primary concern is if people give consent after submitting their personal information of social networking sites. For instance, Facebook's privacy settings are not clear to its users since they believe their postings are not available to the public when they actually are.

Due to such privacy concerns, some policies and laws have been proposed by some legislators in the United States to protect social networkers. The privacy policies dictate an individual's rights regarding the personal data they have on various websites (Hajli and Lin 111). For instance, Facebook has developed a privacy policy that describes what it can and cannot do with a person's data. Therefore, for a user to be allowed to use the Facebook website successfully, they must agree to the terms and conditions. After the privacy breach incident, two lawmakers took a motion to the Senate, and the bill presented was meant to protect Americans from security breaches like the one that had occurred earlier. The law is called the CONSENT Act, and it is designed to be included in the privacy bill of rights (Moustaka, Vaia, et al. 286). If the law is passed by the Senate, the Federal Trade Commission will be required by the state to protect all online users and their personal data on various social networking websites like Facebook (Moustaka, Vaia, et al. 286). One of the strategies of the protection will require providers to inform all the users in the occurrence of a breach. Secondly, all websites will develop reliable data security practices. Thirdly, the websites will be required to get permission from users to share or sell their personal information, and finally, notify their users of any collection of their private data. The social media privacy and Consumer rights Act were also proposed in 2019 to protect the privacy of online users on various social networking websites.

Conclusion

In summary, social networking websites require users to give personal information during the registration process. However, the privacy of users' information is not guaranteed, and the public and the government can access it. These firms ask for personal data to make money through ads, but they do not guarantee their members security from breaches. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution also does not limit the government from obtaining people's personal data from such websites. There have been various policies proposed to the Senate like the CONSENT Act to ensure that social network websites assure their users of privacy and the security of their information.

Works Cited

Black, Stephanie L., Dianna L. Stone, and Andrew F. Johnson. "Use of social networking websites on applicants' privacy." Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal 27.2 (2015): 115-159.

Hajli, Nick, and Xiaolin Lin. "Exploring the security of information sharing on social networking sites: The role of perceived control of information." Journal of Business Ethics 133.1 (2016): 111-123.

Mansour, Romany F. "Understanding how big data leads to social networking vulnerability." Computers in Human Behavior 57 (2016): 348-351.

Moustaka, Vaia, et al. "Enhancing social networking in smart cities: Privacy and security borderlines." Technological Forecasting and Social Change 142 (2019): 285-300.