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Understanding Privacy in Social Media
Dec 5, 2024
Social Media Privacy Lecture Notes
Introduction to Social Media Privacy
Social media platforms have grown to be powerful tools for connection, communication, and business.
Examples: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Grindr, Tinder.
Growth has led to significant access and influence over users' lives.
Data Collection and Usage
Social media companies collect sensitive data: activities, interests, personal details, political views, purchasing habits, and online behaviors.
Data used for user engagement and behavioral advertising.
Concerns about distortive and discriminatory impacts.
Platform Consolidation
Mergers and acquisitions limit privacy-protective alternatives.
Personal data vulnerable to misuse by third parties, including law enforcement.
Legislative Recommendations
Congress urged to enact comprehensive data protection legislation.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should act against abusive data practices.
Social Media & Surveillance Advertising
Companies like Facebook collect data for microtargeting ads.
Known as surveillance or behavioral advertising.
Harmful to privacy, information flow, and psychological health.
Incentives to increase user engagement and curate monetizable actions.
Tracking extends beyond platforms using difficult-to-detect techniques.
Social Media & Competition
Data collection core to business models.
Mergers/acquisitions risk consumer privacy.
Example: Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp.
Promised privacy, later contradicted.
2020 antitrust lawsuits against Facebook and Google.
Importance of considering privacy in competition assessments.
Social Media & Data Breaches
Data vulnerable to hacking, scraping, breaches.
Data includes location, health, religious identity, and more.
Consequences: stalking, outing, disclosure of practices.
Inadequate privacy policies without comprehensive legislation.
EPIC's Role in Social Media Privacy
Advocacy for privacy before Congress, courts, FTC.
Example: Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal.
EPIC's 2008 warning about third-party access.
2009 FTC complaint about Facebook's privacy changes.
2011 FTC settlement for privacy charges.
2014 complaint about Facebook's psychological testing.
Advocacy against Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp.
2018 Cambridge Analytica data breach.
2019 intervention in Facebook settlement.
2020 Oracle-TikTok data privacy concerns.
Complaint against TikTok for child privacy law violations.
Conclusion
Importance of strict privacy safeguards.
Need for federal action to protect user data and promote competition.
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View note source
https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/social-media-privacy/