What are
the privacy and security repercussions of social media? Are we sharing too much
information? Is what we share on social media whether knowingly or
inadvertently and what we click, putting our security and privacy at risk?
Social media is now
considered a commonplace form of communication. Almost everyone has a Facebook
page, and at the very least many people use email. Some jobs actually expect
users to have social media profiles, and require them before hiring. All of
this open information has led to multiple issues regarding privacy and security
that are still being explored. In this post we will examine the issues involved
in online privacy when sharing information through the electronic world.
EMAIL
Email in the workplace has not been considered private for a
long time. Some workplaces increase security through the use of encryption
software and other security measures to secure proprietary company data, but
personal information is most often considered property of the company, “Even if there
is no signed agreement or written policy, an employer can still peek into email
(or your desk for that matter) -- assuming, as is usually the case, that you
have no reasonable expectation of privacy as to the contents,” (NOLO 2012).
What about personal email from home however?
Obviously, personal information should be sent from a personal location. The
catch is that you no longer have control of information once it is sent out
over the web. This will be a common theme when discussing any social media
issue as this blog continues. NOLO, an online law advice website explains the
situation better, “After your email leaves your home it travels over multiple
online services and open networks to reach its destination. Although
interception of email transmission -- that is, snooping while an email is in
"real-time" transmission between sender and receiver -- is a federal
crime under the Electronic Communications Protection Act (ECPA) (18 U.S.C.A
2517(4)), it has been accomplished by hackers.” (NOLO 2012). This real time
transmission is only a partial issue, as data once sent is then stored on hard
drives, ISP’s, public and private network, or even sampled for other use. Once
it is sent, your email is out of your control, so the best practice is not to
send something you don’t want to acknowledge later.
For online resources looking further into email
privacy, please see:
“Email Privacy: If
you want privacy, don't count on email. Here's why.”NOLO
2012.
PHOTOS
Online
photo sharing can be achieved through many different venues, such as Flickr,
Facebook, and Picasa. While the process differs for each area, the basics are
the same. Users upload photos to an online storage site with varying levels of
privacy.
I remember
the first time my phone automatically uploaded its photos to my Google+
account. I was aghast with horror. Sure, my privacy setting was on private, but
my phone didn’t check with me before each picture. In truth, the most that was
likely to happen was that I uploaded those ugly photos of myself that I had
meant to delete – the picture with the eyes closed the one that makes me look
fat, etc. To Google’s credit, I did not see these pictures on any public
display either. The fear is that I had no control. What if I had been drinking
on a day I called in sick? What if I was kissing some guy who wasn’t my
boyfriend? What if my boyfriend had a picture that wasn’t all that publicly
appropriate of me?
Concerns
over these questions keep people up at night. No one wants employers to see
pictures like this in the morning.
The first way to alleviate concerns
of this nature is to use simple common sense. In the example above I would
recommend a) not getting crazy drunk via beer pitcher, and b) not getting your
picture taken if you DO get crazy drunk via beer pitcher. Secondly, check your
privacy settings. In online sharing, your privacy settings can’t work if you
don’t activate them. Basics.
My next section of advice is based
from the New York Times. Companies, data miners, and simple interested
individuals have more ways than one to analyze online users. The one hardest to
control is your “social signature.” In summation, your social signature is your
online personality based upon multiple choices and interactions. In Netflix
this helps to develop your preference list, in Facebook it targets your advertisements.
With photos, it usually targets your friends.
“You may not disclose personal
information, but your online friends and colleagues may do it for you,
referring to your school or employer, gender, location and interests. Patterns
of social communication, researchers say, are revealing.” (Lohr 2010). In
addition to limiting the exposure you put out there personally, pay attention
to the exposure of yourself put out there by friends and acquaintances. I’ll
detail this more in my discussion of social media networking sites. Lohr, S. (March
16, 2010). How Privacy Vanishes Online. The
New York Times. Retrieved online from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/technology/17privacy.html
on May 7
th, 2012.
SOCIAL NETWORKS
So what is the real danger of social
networks? Embarrassment? Job security? Crime? Bullying? It seems that each of
these topics deserves addressing.
Embarrassment
is the least harmful, but most common consequence of social missteps. While the
situation may not go viral, pictures and posts often take longer to delete than
the average user would desire. For example:
More serious considerations include job security. Many people
have been fired over Facebook posts, from various industries. Here are some
examples from the Huffington Post.
But what about crime? Can posting
something get you in serious trouble? In recent news that answer would be
“yes.” The United States Marines recently discharged Sgt. Gary Stein for
anti-Obama posts on his Facebook page. He will get an other-than-honorable
discharge for violating his company policy, and when that company is the United
States government those consequences can be serious (CBS 2012). AP. (April 25th, 2012). Marines discharge sergeant for ant-Obama
Facebook posts. CBS News. Retrieved online http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57421223/marines-discharge-sergeant-for-anti-obama-facebook-posts/
on May 9
th 2012.
Divorce and custody battles are also
at risk with social media. In most court battles, your words will be used
against you. In a divorce, anything that looks like infidelity is easily
applied against you. That means IM’s, Messages, etc. Also pictures can be
terribly incriminating. Tags of you drinking on a school night don’t always
paint a great picture as a responsible parent. If you are going through legal
battles of this nature, Atkins Law Firm has assembled a number of helpful
resources on social media practices.
In addition to crime, a new area of
concern has arisen on cyber bullying. Cyber bullying should not be confused
with the highly similar cyber stalking. Cyber bullying also differs from sexual
exploitation by online predators. Online predators and identity thieves have
become common knowledge over the internet, and most people understand the
precautions needed to combat these. Cyber bullying is a newly defined category
of crime, and www.stop.cyberbullying.org explains the distinctions very well.
"Cyberbullying" is when a child, preteen or
teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise
targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and
digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides, or
at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults
become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyberstalking.
Adult cyber-harassment or cyberstalking is NEVER called cyberbullying.
Cyber
bullying is seen as a larger threat than schoolyard bullying because the
bullies have 24 hour access to their victims. The harassment doesn’t simply end
at the end of the school day. High profile cases such as Kylie Kennelly and the
suicide of Ryan Halligan have called for reform in our current laws to help
combat this threat. Struglinski,
S. (Aug 18, 2006). Schoolyard Bullying
has gone high-tech. Desert News. Retrieved online from http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html
on May 9
th, 2012.
SUMMARY
Online media is a presence here to stay. Our function now is
to figure out how to deal with it in a manner that is both safe and secure. It
seems by studying the multiple cases followed in this blog there are a few
important guidelines.
1) If you don’t want it out there don’t
send it.
2) If you don’t want it in a picture,
don’t do it.
3) Know your audience. Not everything
should be public knowledge.
4) Know your friends. Associations
matter. Block people as needed.
5) If your job has a media policy –
follow it.
6) Once something has been sent, it
can’t be unsent.
FINAL NOTE
While it
is important to protect your own privacy and take responsibility for your
online actions, most of us still have an expectation of personal privacy in the
electronic world. A new trend has been started by employers requesting Facebook
passwords. The debate is still ongoing about the ethics and legality of this
practice, but some helpful practices have been passed on, such as those from
Career Enlightenment. Waldman, J. (May 1, 2012). What to do if a company asks for your
Facebook password in a job interview. Career Enlightenment. Retrieved
online http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html
on May 9
th, 2012.
