Data collection is a huge business in the modern age. It never really occurred to me just how big data collection is until I read about this article about new cars about a year ago. According to the article, data collected from trips in the car could potentially be more valuable than the car itself!
Recently, there have been several controversies regarding data collection, privacy, and consent. To list a few:
- Facebook Paid Teens To Download Data Collection App
- Google Collects Location Data Even When Location Is Disabled
- Amazon and Facebook Reportedly Shared Data With Each Other
With the advent of the internet and social media, companies now have the ability to create detailed profiles on people. This information includes name, family, friends, locations, routines, products bought/sold, interests, demographics, etc. As the largest data companies grow larger and larger, even those not registered to their services can find their data collected. Some of this information is given consensually, but some is given with shoddy consent or without consent at all. It seems that as time passes there are fewer and fewer opportunities to escape having your data collected. Don't want your location collected? Good luck finding a phone that doesn't do that. Don't want your search history collected? Go out of your way to use a different search engine and avoid popular services. Don't want your product history collected? Avoid shopping at the largest supplier of goods online. Even indirectly, you must avoid being in friends' photos to avoid that data being collected, for example.
It seems data collection is growing more and more omnipresent. Data collection companies are making more money and expanding their reach, data collecting services are merging with others, and the Internet of Things is even bringing data collection into everyday gadgets like refrigerators, home locks, and televisions.
With the way things are going, I have a question:
- Is data collection becoming too intrusive? If so, what can we do to prevent this from continuing?
Additional areas to explore:
- Do we have a right to data privacy, or is our data free for anyone to collect?
- Should there be government/private intervention in companies collecting data?
- If data collection continues at its current rate, what do you think the future will look like in terms of how data is collected and how it is used?
Recently, there have been several controversies regarding data collection, privacy, and consent. To list a few:
- Facebook Paid Teens To Download Data Collection App
- Google Collects Location Data Even When Location Is Disabled
- Amazon and Facebook Reportedly Shared Data With Each Other
With the advent of the internet and social media, companies now have the ability to create detailed profiles on people. This information includes name, family, friends, locations, routines, products bought/sold, interests, demographics, etc. As the largest data companies grow larger and larger, even those not registered to their services can find their data collected. Some of this information is given consensually, but some is given with shoddy consent or without consent at all. It seems that as time passes there are fewer and fewer opportunities to escape having your data collected. Don't want your location collected? Good luck finding a phone that doesn't do that. Don't want your search history collected? Go out of your way to use a different search engine and avoid popular services. Don't want your product history collected? Avoid shopping at the largest supplier of goods online. Even indirectly, you must avoid being in friends' photos to avoid that data being collected, for example.
It seems data collection is growing more and more omnipresent. Data collection companies are making more money and expanding their reach, data collecting services are merging with others, and the Internet of Things is even bringing data collection into everyday gadgets like refrigerators, home locks, and televisions.
With the way things are going, I have a question:
- Is data collection becoming too intrusive? If so, what can we do to prevent this from continuing?
Additional areas to explore:
- Do we have a right to data privacy, or is our data free for anyone to collect?
- Should there be government/private intervention in companies collecting data?
- If data collection continues at its current rate, what do you think the future will look like in terms of how data is collected and how it is used?