Technological Privacy: Whose Right to Know?

The Topic:

With the rise in millennials using social media along with the Internet of Things (IOT) comes a massive amount of data, Big Data as it is called, to be exploited. An ethical dilemma comes into play regarding who should be able to use Big Data. Companies use it for monetization, politicians for campaigning, and terrorists for recruitment to name a few. Where do we, the users, fall into all of this?

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Readings:

  1. Facebook Tinkers With Users’ Emotions in News Feed Experiment, Stirring Outcry: Link to Reading

  2. The Strava Heat Map and the End of Secrets: Link to Reading

  3. Facebook’s Ad Platform Is Easily Gamed and Your Privacy is Cheaply Bought: Link to Reading

  4. Netflix checks in on Redditor after sudden bout of binge-watching: Link to Reading

  5. A Man Broadcast a Killing on Facebook. Is that Facebook’s Fault?: Link to Reading

  6. (Optional) A Hacker Turned an Amazon Echo into a ‘Wiretap’: Link to Reading

  7. (Optional Video) Life Inside China’s Total Surveillance State: Link to Reading

Discussion Questions:

  1. Regarding the reading on Netflix, should they be allowed to check in on their customers if they are worried about their wellbeing? Can this extend to other companies such as Facebook or Twitter?

  2. How do you filter content that you personally post on social media? Does having privacy settings on “high” cause you to filter less content and vice versa?

  3. Letting the buyer beware: should the terms and conditions of social media websites be more transparent up front about how users’ data is being used? What would this look like?

  4. Looking at Facebook’s Ad Platform, does it seem like Facebook’s best interests are in shareholders or stakeholders (primary users)? Should they be focused on one more than the other?

  5. Should social media companies be allowed to censor and filter out malicious material that is posted or is this a violation of the first amendment?

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Created:

Created by Maxwell Pederson, SEAS'18, February 2017.