Analysis of Privacy in Social Networking-- Written October 2015

Do Social-Networking Sites Threaten Privacy?

             Social networking is a key part of our modern-day society. It is a place where stories fly, news abounds, laughter is incessant and human beings are allowed to speak their minds to whatever extent they wish. Political correctness is of no consequence here; these are places of joy and fun, where people ‘shout’ at each other and debate deeply emotional, political, and religious issues. It is a place where friendships are made, displayed, and destroyed while an unassociated viewer takes part in the entire story. Social media is the pubescent female’s diary, the attention-seeker’s playground, and the pedophile’s catalogue. It is the faraway family’s contact method, the drug dealer’s market, and the religious fanatic’s doorway to the world. The drawback? Social Networking sites, though reasonably protected, pose a substantial threat to the privacy of users.

             As stated on ProCon.org, there is not a single more effective tool in the world of news and connections than social media. Websites like Twitter and Facebook allow families to stay connected, friendships to strengthen, and news to be shared with a speed and accessibility that has never been available before. Privacy and safety settings are available which greatly improve the safety and security of the information posted, and these are usually quite simple to use. Facebook has a Help Center page dedicated entirely to FAQ’s relating to security, and Twitter not only has an up-to-date Safety Center site, but a profile dedicated to safety that tweets regularly and has been on Twitter since 2009 (@safety). Google Plus, which is fairly new to the Social Networking game, hosts a page (Google Safety Center) dedicated to safety with advice specifically for teens, parents, and a handful of other categories. YouTube’s security settings are minimal, with only two security options, but more details are available on their Policy and Safety Hub. More specific settings can be changed on the user’s attached Google account (Google Privacy Policy).

             Even so, Social Networks continue to pose threats to the privacy of their users. Bloggers write about it, newspapers publish it--it seems that every day there is brand-new information. ‘Facebook Safety For Kids’ (Monitor), 19 Essential Tips to Stay Safe on Twitter’ (F.), and ‘5 Threats to Your Security When Using Social Media’ (Anonymous) are among the common titles. Floods of information dominate the Web, and still, as ProCon.org points out, cyberbullying, impersonation, robberies, abductions, and account hacks are frighteningly common. Many teenagers, who are the primary group in the Social Networking community, don’t even know the safety features exist--and if they do, they have little knowledge of how to navigate them (Ndiandukue).

             Kids in the House, an online resource for parents, recently released a video about Twitter that tells an alarming tale. Theresa M. Payton, national cyber security expert, states: “Every single Tweet, since the inception of Twitter, even if you don’t see it anymore, is being stored in the National Archives and Library of Congress, and it will be searchable for anybody.” Facebook has similar reservoirs of information; not in the Library of Congress, but its own private database. Information is saved indefinitely to this database, even when a user has deleted his/her account. Maria Aspan of the New York Times explains: “The technological hurdles… have a business rationale: they allow ex-facebookers… to resurrect their accounts effortlessly.” While this may be a convenience for those who wish to resurrect their accounts, the users wishing to permanently delete their information find it invasive and alarming (par. 8).

             Despite these dangers, Social Media remains one of the most widespread tools on the internet (ProCon.org). Millions of people flock to their favorite sites daily to tell stories, see photos of faraway friends and family, and learn what’s happening in the world. People put themselves and their families in danger daily, and sharing is only increasing. In a 2011 edition of the New Yorker, Nicholas Thompson writes: “…a few years ago, we lived roughly ten percent of our lives online…. Now it’s about thirty percent… which means roughly nine times as much as a few years ago” (“Bigger Brother,” par. 5). This rapid growth of sharing percentages in our community is particularly frightening in view of the dangers of Social Networking. Though steps have been taken to remedy this, they are minimal. In 2011, Facebook made an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to stop marking users’ information as private and then making it public; however, “the agreement won’t stop Facebook from monitoring and sharing users’ Web-browsing habits, which is a way for the company and others like it to make money” (“Time to Enact”, par. 3).

             An anonymous guest author for Social Times gives us five basic tips in order to stay safe in situations such as these. First, pay attention to the things posted to your page. Announcing that you’ll be on vacation can attract burglars to your empty home. Photos of your house or an invitation to your yard sale with a posted address are equally dangerous; those are exactly the types of statuses unsavory characters watch for. The author also points out that shortened links, such as the links found on Twitter and other sites, are common hacking devices. These links are frequently shortened for the purpose of limiting use of characters, but are sometimes shortened to hide the danger of the site from the viewer. Users should utilize link checkers such as URLVoid or MyWot to ensure safety in their browsing. The ‘Do Not Track’ feature, which was given substantial attention in USA Today in 2011, is greatly helpful, and don’t forget to check yourself at the door for overconfidence. One example given in the article states: “…You may post ‘Happy birthday to my mother!’ and then tag her in the post. Likely, your mother’s maiden name will be associated with that tag now. A popular security question is ‘What is your mother’s maiden name?’ and if you share that online, you run the risks of identity thieves getting the answer to this commonly used question” (5 Threats).

             The same idea goes for sharing pictures and videos. I’m sure most people have seen videos such as “Charlie bit my finger” on YouTube. The video, according to Kevin McSpadden, was posted to YouTube for one reason: so Charlie’s godfather could see it. The file was too big to attach to an email, so Charlie’s dad posted it on his channel and sent the link instead. McSpadden goes on to tell us that as of April 2015, the video has over 816 million views, and that number is still growing. Charlie and Harry, the brothers in the video, are 9 and 11 respectively--and famous worldwide. This situation has ended favorably for the boys, but others, such as Nipon Das, Alan Burlison, and Steven Mansour, were decidedly less so. All three men tried to delete their Facebook accounts, but were unsuccessful—Mr. Das was even contacted via email through his ‘deleted’ account, and Mr. Burlinson’s account deletion wishes were not honored until he orchestrated an interview on the subject with Britain’s Channel Four News and sent it to Facebook executives (“How Sticky Is Membership”).

             Situations like these and others are continuous across the nation. While the Social Networking world is a great asset to society, it also poses a great threat. If we as individuals become aware of what’s safe to post, use safety features, and keep our private information to ourselves, these tools can continue to benefit millions- without needlessly endangering ourselves.

Works Cited

Anonymous Guest. “5 Threats to Your Security When Using Social Media.” SocialTimes, 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Aspan, Maria. “How Sticky is Membership on Facebook? Just Try Breaking Free”. Kirszner, 287-290.

Fabri F. “19 Essential Tips to Stay Safe on Twitter.” Softonic, 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Facebook. “Help Center.” Facebook, 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015

Google. “Privacy Policy.” Google, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015

Google+. “Safety Center.” Google, 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015

Guy-Hermann Ngambeket Ndiandukue. “Social Networks and Privacy- Threats and Protection”. ISACA, 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Kevin McSpadden. “This Is What the ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ Boys Look Like Now.” Time, 2015. 13 Oct. 2015.

Kirszner, Laurie G, and Stephen R. Mandell. Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology, Second Edition. Bedford/St. Martin’s. Boston, New York, 2014. Print.

Minor Monitor. “Facebook Safety for Kids.” Minor Monitor, 2012. Web. 7 Oct. 2015

ProCon. “Social Networking.” ProCon.org, 2015. Web. 7 Oct. 2015

Theresa M. Payton. “Is Twitter Safe for Children to Use?” kidsinthehouse, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Thompson, Nicholas. “The Bigger Brother: The Exponential Law of Privacy Loss”. Kirszner, 284-285.

Twitter. “Safety Center.” Twitter, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.

---. “Safety (@safety).” Twitter, 2009. Web. 14 Oct. 2015

USA Today Editorial Board. “Time to Enact ‘Do Not Track’”. Kirszner, 286-287.

YouTube. “Policy and Safety Hub.” YouTube, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2015

---. “Privacy.” YouTube, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2015.