The Fight for Data Control

Technological advances often outpace the general public's understanding of the technologies and their potential implication on our daily lives. Excitement or efficiency in accessing new services and features may cause one to overlook loose data privacy policies or even fail to realize there wasn't a policy in place at all. As many have had to deal with the ramifications of data breaches like identity theft or the publication of personal messages and images, we are left to consider if companies infamous for data scandals were merely trying to turn a profit.

In 2019, many watched as Zuckerberg answered the FTC for Facebook's mishandling of user data with regard to data harvesting done by the company Cambridge Analytica. This consulting firm used the user information for psychological targeting, assisting clients like Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and the UK's Vote Leave campaign. Again in 2020, Meta was left to defend itself against several accusations in the popular Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, where the film alleged their algorithms are meant to keep users engaged and the possible ramifications on the psychological well-being of young people interacting more in this digital space.

Google faced a similar lawsuit in the mishandling of the information of minors. Children's watching habits on YouTube were tracked without the consent of their parents, and the data was used for ad-targeting products from large toy and animation corporations. Though there were legal protections in place, namely COPPA, Google was found not in compliance from 2013 to 2020.

More recently, TikTok is making headlines as international tensions rise. People are awakening to questions regarding how their data is collected and handled when in the hands of a company from a country that is not their own. Many are shifting positions in the definition of spyware and wondering what their legal protections are in the global digital world. Yet, because social media and video platforms are not new, the rate of sharing information and local breaking stories with each other on these platforms instead of solely consuming traditionally accepted media reports is new. Many criticize the TikTok case in particular, as a means to control and censor information while masquerading as a data privacy issue in a landscape where data privacy is already a concern for companies based within national borders.

As corporations make money off of the analytics and selling of consumer data, it is paramount to consider why it is valuable. Will companies know us better than ourselves? If we are so drawn into the digital world, can we escape the targeted and constant barrage of advertising? Is data collection from one company worse than another when most data can still be harvested and sold? While there is tremendous potential to deeply understand human and social behavior it appears that large corporations and monopolies are already deciding factors of what can shape our daily lives through the use of our data.

Our organization, Data Lit Pro, seeks to improve the outlook for everyone when it comes to being a competent citizen of the data world. However, in order to know where we are going, we have to know where we are. If you are interested in participating in exploring data literacy, please consider providing us with your thoughts on data in https://s.surveyplanet.com/arw5bz4a our open and anonymous survey.

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