Similar to Net Neutrality, open internet, and internet laws. What laws should be in place to protect personal data? Since there currently are not any solid ones, should we protect ourselves? I always say that if a company wants to use my data to make things better for me, then is that really so bad? They are trying to improve the life of the user. I listened to a playlist youtube made me for this morning off of one song I was in the mood for, but it was dead on even though it ranged from Death Cab for Cutie to Daft Punk to Escape the Fate and The Lonely Island. I’m sure that was made based on of data they have collected about me and others. It was really convenient!
However, that’s not always the case and though at the moment I like how they are using my data, what about in the future? At this point Google knows more about me then probably even my closest friends, so I’m okay with that-no turning back now. What about if in 10 years Google or Apple decides to sell that data, or charge more because of it, or predict things too accurately? There are countless stories of data being used in a way not approved by the consumer and some of is sure to be true, but others might not be so it’s best to take it with a grain of salt.
How much data are consumers okay with trusting with companies and how much should they? I was in a discussion once that if theoretically all you needed to input to file taxes was your social security number, how many people would be okay with that? You would need to ask them the standard questions they are used to answering to make them feel comfortable. I’ve heard of many things that ask for more than they need solely for user comfort. That’s really fricking weird to be honest.
Well, if you want to make yourself a little more private, switch from Chrome to Firefox-completely open source and built by users, try DuckDuckGo for searching, Zoho is supposed to be a good alternative to Google Drive. You personally should decide what companies should know about you because right now that’s the only thing protecting you.
Jenny A Manning 