People never really think about their personal privacy. It feels like an everyday occurance to be looked upon using cameras and to have your phones somehow know what you were talking about. Lately, it just came to attention that are people truly ever alone? Privacy in social media is a hot topic talked about everywhere. There are concerning things like identity theft by social media or how people could access and invade personal accounts. Other concerning ideas includes includes how scary or creepy phones know which store their owner went to then suddenly Facebook is giving free coupons for that store. But do they ever talk about the positives about it? There are advantages in having social media, such as connecting with people halfway around the world, helping the local police in finding a wanted criminal, and having a place for your freedom of speech and expression. Privacy laws for any social media is necessary and helps people in many situations .
There are certain aspects where people would see social media as dangerous. They might mention aspects of identity theft or hacking. In certain cases there are instances where terrorist groups use hacking to help them invade into the country. There were terrorists posting their own videos on Youtube and also used Facebook and Twitter to scout and recruit people to join ISIS. However, there are extremely reliable security and privacy blocks on social media. Defending the social media platform is Vice Principal and General Council of Facebook, Colin Stretch, stated “We are getting better at using artificial intelligence (AI) to stop the spread of terrorist content on Facebook. We are currently focusing our most cutting-edge techniques to combat terrorist content about ISIS, Al Qaeda, and their affiliates, andwe are working to expand to other terrorist organizations. We’ve gotten better at identifying and removing terrorist content from our site — in fact, most of the content we remove we identify on our own, before anyone has reported it. But because terrorists also adapt as technology evolves, we are constantly updating our technical solutions to try to stay ahead”(The Pros and Cons”). This proves that social media will always have its downsides but it is dealt with immediately and most would not even notice it. There is even a strict security code that is used in all social media platforms to help prevent hacking from anyone. It states on the website of State of California Department of Justice, “Websites requesting personal information should use Secure Socket Layers (SSL), the industry standard for protecting private information sent over the Internet. The information is encrypted, or scrambled, into a code. This means that your information can't be read during transmission”(“How to Read a Privacy Policy”). If a hacker tries to go through someone’s account, they have to get through a strong block of security codes and even if they succeed in that, there is still an alert that goes out to the company that warns them. This leads to the hacker being tracked and they are dealt with straightaway. The information is safe and if any tampering is identified, it is handled with immediately.
The advantages of using social media helps benefit people’s lives. One advantage is the connection that social media provides. Social media connects us to different parts of the world on a twenty-four hour basis. There’s access to find a friends that have not been seen since elementary school or family relatives that never got the opportunity to meet before. Social media could also connect others with their local community. Like knowing when there is going to be a bake sale for charity or when a council meeting to going to be held. Another example is being able to branch out to different genres of music, food, or movies. In police related examples, it could be able to track down a criminal based on their social media. What if one of the videos a person posted on their instagram reveals a wanted criminal walking in the background. The police would be able to identify them and also alert them that the area is unsafe to be in. This could result in saving many lives and also prevent any harm and damage from happening to any new individuals. It also assists the police with capturing a criminal quicker and more efficiently then going through old papers.
Surveillance on individuals using technology is a main focus on privacy codes. In this case it is the use of looking through social media to survey suspicious activity. It is alright for the government to check specific people’s accounts for a case. Nowadays, social media is like the phonebook of the future. If a person wants to find another person, the first place they would look is on Instagram or Facebook. Privacy Rights state, “Law enforcement agencies can and do monitor social networks for illegal activity. During an investigation, law enforcement will often turn to a suspect’s social network profiles to glean any information that they can”(“Social Networking Privacy”). In criminal cases, the police or any law enforcement could look on social media for any evidence. It could also be used to check for a future event that could happen. It is recorded that some school shooters even post their activities on social media. This would be a great time for the police department to see that and immediately act upon it. Also, in the job force, they survey who they intend to hire for the position. Any workplace would not want someone who is unqualified to be in a high position. By using social media, employers could decipher if someone has good working qualities versus someone who would not take their job seriously or does not do their job in general.
The freedoms gained through social media are astonishing. First, there is the freedom of expression. On social media there is a freedom of getting to express yourself any way you wanted to. By posting fashion choices alongside historical sites in the background or by simply posting a quote that could lift spirits. Social media gives that opportunity to showcase people’s inner self to future employers as well. If there is a position wanted in the fashion industry, those pictures of with the latest style on Instagram could help people appeal to employers to hire and look like an exceptional candidate. For example, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken on several cases where employees were fired based on status updates to Facebook or information posted on their personal blogs outside of work”(“How Free Speech”). Another aspect of freedom social media gives is the freedom of speech. There is the ability to post anything on social media. An example of what could be posted is something about the climate change that is happening. Which could lead to wanting to raise awareness to help start a campaign to help from preventing it. Or alerting others that a certain individual is going through a rough time at the moment which would result in their friends being there for them in the comments sending their love and support.
Social media does have many beneficial aspects that help in positive ways among the users. It helps beneficially in different areas in different ways. For example social media helps individuals in staying together and up to date with world events to helping the police department finding or capturing a wanted criminal. Social media already does have a privacy setting that is there to help protect us and keep our information ours. They are always updated in their software to help find the most advanced way to help protect our privacy. Social media is also the place that allows people to give their independent ideas into the world. So far social media has been a favorable and useful appliance in having for everyone around the world.