Consumers need to safeguard their own privacy

THE NEED FOR CONSUMERS TO SAFEGUARD THEIR PRIVACY
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The advancement in technology has made things very easy for consumers. Of all inventions, the internet has had the most significant influence on consumers’ way of life. The internet now rules almost all spheres of a consumer life. Business transactions are nowadays carried out in the comfort of one’s house through various e-commerce platforms that have been facilitated by the internet. Social networking sites such as Twitter have become the newest ways through which product information reaches the consumer. Companies are willing and ready to invest highly in social media advertising with the confidence that returns are guaranteed. However, for most of these activities, consumers find themselves having to disclose much personal and private information leading to the breach of their privacy.The Past and recent incidences of information misuse and the getting hold of it by unauthorized persons have lead to serious concerns regarding the protection of this information by businesses and the government. Consumers have also become apprehensive about the need for sharing this information. These incidences prove that consumers need to protect their own privacy as the government and businesses are no longer concerned and therefore cannot be trusted.
Privacy can be referred to as one’s ability to control the use of personal information by other parties as well as the access to such information.Internet privacy is, therefore, the privacy concerning data transmissions and Internet transactions.

While privacy is a fundamental human right in all most all countries, consumers have discovered that in the online world, one may have to pay to be accorded this right. But why is this so? The internet can be regarded as an information superhighway. It has created a virtual world of its kind where there is no boundary. Information freely flows from party to party at great speeds. At the click of just a button, it is possible to access much of an individual’s personal information from various search engines. It is possible to obtain even false and malicious information regarding a person from these search engines. There is, therefore, a need for concern relating to the sharing of personal information in social sites. Behavioral marketing is another issue that has brought much controversy concerning privacy. Internet advertising has become the new thing in business. Companies now monitor their consumers’ search habits and who they talk to in social media to identify their tastes and preferences so that they can meet these needs. In the process of this activity, they find access to a lot of their personal information which could include their financial data, sexual orientation, and political affiliations. The problem is that the consumer is always not aware that they are being monitored and may have no control over the monitoring.
One may assume that businesses extract this information to serve their consumers’ needs better and therefore both parties benefits; however, in reality, this is not the case. Businesses are only concerned with the maximization of profits; there is big money to be made from the violation of consumer privacy. According to Culnan and Bies, privacy issues arise due to the tensions between consumer rights and commercial interests. Most businesses claim that the information they obtain is non-identifiable; however, this is not usually the case. Consumers are usually fast to assign away their information, yet they are not told what happens to it or to whom it is later transferred. This situation is facilitated by the companies’ privacy act. Most of these enterprises also resist any attempt by their consumers to opt-out of their behavioral marketing list leading to much concern over privacy.
While most companies promise not to sell their consumers’ information, this is what they do. Others even promise not to share the information with other companies. Those that hint on the possibility of giving the information to other parties give the excuse of sharing it with their strategic partners. However, there is usually a lot of cash involved in this transfer of information; personal information sells like hot cakes. The sharing of information is usually done to refine the companies’ marketing efforts. The issue here is that an individual has no right to access this information. Not many hesitate to think the implications of pressing the OK button to sign away the information. Once it is gone, you can’t do anything; you can’t update it, change it, or ask for deletion. While many people may not be concerned that their preferred business companies may be taking them for a ride by just using them as a stepping stone to financial success, there is a need for concern as the information may later be accessed by unauthorized people. Once consumers’ data is collected and stored in different databases, it is usually the target of people in serious need of it and therefore vulnerable to breaches. Hackers get hold of this information for their personal use. Research has shown that once the information databases are hacked into, a consumer is usually at a higher risk of experiencing identity theft.
Most governments have also been violating consumers’ privacy right by misusing its powers. They make a few calls or send some letters to social media companies like Facebook and Twitter to obtain some information regarding various individuals and these organizations comply within hours or few days. They also monitor most of the activities and interaction in different social media groups especially those said to have a hidden agenda with the aim of catching criminals. In the process of acquiring information concerning their persons of interest, they also collect that of their friends, family members, and followers. This is usually in total disregard of the law as they fail to follow the stipulated due process. The government also keeps medical records of individuals with various ailments or conditions. Other personal medical records are fed into social security numbers to which the government has access. There is a concern about this information as it may be gained access by unauthorized people. This information if accessed by other parties may influence the chances of getting health insurance cover, gaining employment or the admission into educational facilities.
The actions by the government and businesses show that there is a need to have serious reservations regarding the availing of one’s information to other parties. There is a need to ask if the information is secure enough, what rights you have over the information, with whom it is being shared, and how it is being used by them. Consumers need to use common sense while providing information. In case there is something fishy on a website, for example, an intrusive third party site that may be collecting their data, there is a need to inform the company of their displeasure with the situation or to keep off the site altogether. There is also need to back away from providing information to a company if such information will be shared with other parties as a consumer may not know to what use it will be put by these third parties. Consumers should also no provide information if they are not able to access it and control its distribution. While some consumers may not be concerned with the protection of their data, there is a need to be concerned about others who need the protection of their data. As one gives their data, that of followers or those in close circles is also in some cases got hold of. The people in an individual’s circles may include political activists, members of the LGBT community, public figures, and human right activists who may not wish their identities to be revealed. All consumers should, therefore, be careful while sharing of information with other parties.
There has been an argument that if all people keep their data private, the internet will cease to exist as it would be no longer free. This argument has an element of justification in it as advertisements are the main way of earning income on the internet e.g. through social media sites. However, behavioral advertising is not the only way of publicity. This kind of marketing has been witnessed in the recent years and did not exist before. Traditionally, marketing targeted all individuals collectively, not just a single person. The main issue, therefore, is for companies to be more transparent to their consumers. They should let their consumers have a right to know what happens to the information collected from them or otherwise do away with tracking altogether.
In conclusion, there is a need for consumers to protect their own privacy. They should not wait on the government or business organizations to safeguard their privacy as their efforts have been too minimal if not insignificant. We also live in a capitalistic world where everybody is concerned about how they will make more money no matter the procedure to be used. Businesses have been in the recent past been more concerned about increasing their profits. The trade in information is one of the best ways of making huge profits as information is quite crucial in marketing. Governments, on the other hand, care more about catching criminals and not privacy. Consumers, therefore, have to take the largest burden of safeguarding their privacy.
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