With the proliferation of the Internet platforms, there have been some debates regarding safety of the Internet usage. This is because some giant Internet organizations are holding people information. In my opinion, the disadvantages might outweigh the benefits if individual privacy is served for the sake of business without implementing some rigorous changes to its data privacy policies.
There are various reasons why most Internet companies are asking users ‘ authentication. First and foremost, with the prevalence of the technology as well as the growing number of users across multiple online platforms created by technological corporations, more and more cybercriminal cases are being reported day by day. Specifically, being anonymous on the Internet encourages more hate speeches , or even worse false news , with the purpose of decaying social unity, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic. Another factor to this keeping users’ identity is mainly for the sake of teenagers who are under the age of 13. They are impressional, leading to the exposure to inappropriate content such as violence or nudity.
However, opponents of this view argue users’ privacy might be abused if these above reasons are driven forces for these technological organizations. One of the reason that has sparked debate is the users feel a sense of annoyance when their personal information is served as database for marketing purposes. Some marketing companies can analyze their buying behaviors by using algorithms or to navigate the probability that they likely give preference to one point of view or one brand. Facebook, one of the biggest online platform , has been accused of collecting users’ data for targeted advertising and monetization when in 2018, it was revealed that the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had accessed and misused data from millions of Facebook users without their consent. This scandal highlighted the vulnerability of user data and the potential for abuse.
In conclusion, technological conveniences are mainly created for human needs. This may be the root cause for the biggest challenge, which is privacy concern that we are facing today. In my opinion, privacy issues outweigh the benefits we have wished for if a commercial or personal priority is a driven by some giant technological organizations.