“We value your privacy”
Every Internet user has, at some point in time, come across two common phrases: “we value your privacy” or “your privacy is important to us”. Usually, these phrases are followed by privacy statements that are seemingly endless. Statements detailing how our personal data is collected, shared, utilised, retained, what rights we have over our data.
Privacy in the digital world is merely a façade. The idea that digital services (think Meta, TikTok, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, among many others) have our best interests at heart is just another smoke screen. Much like the white lies and half truths told to us by the fuckboy we swiped right on. What’s valuable and important to digital services is our personal data. It’s the way they make money.
The saying “if it’s free, you’re the product” is a misguided one. Our interaction and engagement with digital services serves as the raw materials to create new products. New products also known as personalised or targetted advertisements. Advertisements that play at our impulsivity. An impulsivity fueled by a false sense of urgency.
Digital services use a plethora of nudging techniques to guide us to make certain choices. Choices that we believe are favourable to us and are within our best interests. However, the digital interfaces we interact with day in and day out are often designed to deliberately mislead us into making decisions that are detrimental to our privacy.
Essentially, as users of the internet, we are frequently coerced into consenting to give over information we didn’t even realise we were giving up. What happens is we are overwhelmed by information to the point where we don’t have the time or attention to actually make a conscious decision. Similar to being lovebombed by a new romantic interest; you are coerced into thinking they’re the perfect match because you’ve been too overloaded with stimuli to realise they’re not good for you.
Privacy notices give you an illusion of choice, but inevitably we’re left surrendering our personal data regardless of the choice we make. There’s an imbalance of power between users and providers of digital services. They know much more about us than we do about them. They know our habits, our schedules, what time we go to bed and wake up in the morning, the list of things they know is endless. They use this information to curate the perfect digital space to keep us engaged and coming back. They combine our information with other people’s, package it off and sell it in the market for personal data.
Yes, the internet is an overwhelming place. It’s getting increasingly tougher, perhaps almost impossible, to steer clear of digital services, especially social media platforms. But as consumers, we should all become more aware and more importantly, care about what’s happening to our personal information. Especially considering that we’re shifting into an increasingly online existence.
Fear not, as it's not all hopeless! In the EU, 100 days into the introduction of the Digital Services Act (DSA), we see a decrease in use of behavioural data for advertisements on digital services. The DSA seeks to create a safer digital space where our fundamental rights are protected. The DSA also seeks to complement the existing General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to safeguard our right to privacy. We’ll continue to see the evolution of digital services in light of the DSA’s roll out. But importantly, as consumers of digital services, it’s essential for us to be accountable and aware of what’s happening when we interact with the digital world.
If you’re interested in learning more, here are some useful resources:
Social Dilemma (2020) - available on Netflix
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff
