Protecting Your Privacy Online (Proposal) Andrew de leon (100518293), JAVERIA KHAN (100610576), Muhammad Rajput (100488643), Alia Ramjohn (100195792), Brian Saboe (100495942), Mikko seppala (100634804)

Problem: There was a time when the Internet was very small, accessible by a well-educated minority, and considered a luxury to have. (Howe, 2016) That time people were aware of what was being shared of their personal lives on the Internet, and technologies like P3P were in place to give users the control over their privacy. (W3C, 2007) Today, however, the culture of Internet has evolved dramatically.

Not only is the Internet accessible by almost half of the entire population on earth, but the people using it are hardly aware of what is being made public about them. Information about them is being collected by websites and then sold to marketers without their knowledge and used to profile them online. (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, 2017) There is also instances where users on Google or Facebook put so much of their personal information on their pages, that they can end up having their accounts stolen and falling victim to identity theft. (Techguy Labs. n.d.)

Suggestion: In order to change the culture of the Internet, we need to start with the youth of this time, because they are the architects of the future of the Internet. (Scherker, 2014)

Step: Awareness about online privacy can be taught in schools. The teaching curricula should include a course or two, focusing entirely on how to take control of what gets shared and what gets not.

Suggestion: Making the average user better aware of the specifics of what gets shared about them, when they sign up to a website. (Smithers, 2011)

Step: Whether you are an average Internet user or a social media geek, there is a high possibility that you don’t read the long agreement to which you click “I agree”. (Morrison, 2015) Therefore, a constitution bill can be proposed, which makes it compulsory for websites which collect data to include an easily accessible page. This page would summarize briefly all the things which get collected by them, and with whom they are shared prior to users signing up.

An open source app can be created in which users can submit facts about websites. For example, a user can submit a fact, that Facebook uses your data to give you targeted advertisements. (Wakefield, 2015) Then people around the world can upvote this fact, so it gains relevance and becomes easily accessible by the entire world.

Possibility: The idea that a time would come in, which each user of the Internet would be aware of exactly what gets shared and used about them is unrealistic. It's very unlikely to happen, however, it should not stop us from taking action. With our proposed suggestions and proposal, we believe that we can educate the average user to the point, that they become better aware of their online profile(s).

REFERENCES

Howe, W. (2016, August 23). A Brief History of the Internet. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html

W3C. (2007, November 20). P3P: The Platform for Privacy Preferences. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from https://www.w3.org/P3P/

Internet Live Stats. (n.d.). Number of Internet Users. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/

Privacy Rights Clearingshouse. (2017, January 31). Online Privacy: Using The Internet Safely. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from https://www.privacyrights.org/consumer-guides/online-privacy-using-internet-safely

Techguy Labs. (n.d.). How to Identify a Malicious Website. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://techguylabs.com/blog/how-identify-malicious-website

Scherker, A. (2014, July 21). Didn't Read Facebook's Fine Print? Here's Exactly What It Says. The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/21/facebook-terms-condition_n_5551965.html

Smithers, R. (2011, May 11). Terms and conditions: not reading the small print can mean big problems. The Guardian. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/may/11/terms-conditions-small-print-big-problems

Morrison, K. (2015, May 27). Survey: Many Users Never Read Social Networking Terms of Service Agreements. Adweek. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.adweek.com/digital/survey-many-users-never-read-social-networking-terms-of-service-agreements/

Wakefield, J. (2015, November 10). What is Facebook doing with my data?. BBC News. Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34776191

Proposal: No matter how long the journey will be; it always begins with a single step. As a small group in this class, we can only do so much and hope it grows into something bigger. Brainstorming with the group, we got the idea that we could start a Facebook group. The Facebook group will link people to our Adobe Spark page, which will include tips for people to better protect their privacy. The spark page will serve as the center of tips and guidelines, and the Facebook group will be used to connect with the world to spread awareness about the spark page.

Credits:

Created with images by freephotocc - "cup of coffee laptop office" • geralt - "facebook internet network" • FirmBee - "macbook mac apple" • keiyac - "twitter - What are you doing?" • pixelcreatures - "security protection anti virus" • Yu. Samoilov - "System Lock" • xmodulo - "Metadata Anonymization Toolkit - Clean up Metadata" • dannysullivan - "Facebook Privacy Settings" • joffi - "hacking hacker computer" • LoboStudioHamburg - "twitter facebook together" • niekverlaan - "keyboard button key"

Made with Adobe Slate

Make your words and images move.

Get Slate

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.