The text is Click, and Facebook revises privacy by Tim Dick. The article discusses the issue of privacy on the Internet taking Facebook as a bright example of how your interests and activity can be revealed to other users of this global social network. According to Veer (2010), privacy concerns exist among all people that use the internet.
The internet that facilitates sharing of information is exploited by unscrupulous users. Email and Facebook users are some of the countless victims of the deplorable state of privacy online. Facebook has set up various measures to guard against the breach of privacy which is a fundamental right.
However, the entity has performed poorly with regard to this aspect. As such, Facebook has been a recipient of massive criticism for its failure to uphold and guard privacy. It is true that Facebook seems to be failing in its efforts to secure the users’ private data (Veer 2012, p.150).
Social sites ought to protect their users’ information from online predators and sniffers whose key objective is to use the users’ information for their selfish gains. In social sites, massive data is at risk owing to such malpractices. Warfel (2008) attests that social sites contain a lot of personal information.
Such information should be secured so that no one without permission has access to it. Breach of privacy would have countless repercussions such as identity theft and defrauding. The article fails to highlight some of the implications of security lapses in Facebook. Privacy is the major concern in the article. Nonetheless, Facebook seems to treat such a concern lightly yet it pertains to colossal amounts of private information.
Thus, as stated in the article, ” Facebook says privacy and the trust of its users are important to it. ”We don’t share information we receive about you with others,” it says, with three large exceptions: when it has your permission, gives you notice of its intentions or passes on your information without identifying you” (Dick n.p.).
Privacy should be the chief concern for Mark Zuckerberg who is constantly reassuring users of the safety of their data. Nevertheless, many stakeholders question Facebook’s efforts to secure the privacy of users’ information (Warfel 2008, p. 7).
Facebook’s attempts to secure its users’ information have entailed creating a system which allows the users to make a list of people who can access their information. According to Abram (2012), online predators have the capability to bypass such a system set up by this organization.
In addition, an Australian critic has made allegations that the entity had been analysing trends based on the information posted by Facebook account holders. Such analysis would enable Facebook to forecast certain trends that can give them an advantage over their rivals. Information based on the above analysis would have a massive business value. This has been a key trigger of privacy breaches on Facebook and other social sites.
The assertions made by the article are valid since Facebook has about 800 million users. If information is power, than analysing information from the Facebook would precipitate massive information with great business value. Furthermore, the social site presents a massive pool of social site users who can be victims of various unscrupulous schemes perpetrated by criminals (Abram 2012, p.70).
The article paints an accurate graphic of the current state of privacy on Facebook and other social site. The entity seems to be distracted by its monopolistic rivals. These rivals, such as Google, are making massive revenues. Hence, Facebook seems to be overlooking grave matters as it enacts features aimed at out-doing its rivals such as Google.
The rivalry among these entities has triggered innovations that characterize the social sites sector. Nonetheless, vital concerns have been compromised in this rivalry. Facebook should prioritize the privacy of the users’ information. Thus, Facebook should build systems that can secure the users’ data. In conclusion, the article highlights privacy as the key concern in social sites by providing adequate factual information.
References
Abram, C 2012, Facebook for Dummies, John Wiley’s and Sons, New Jersey.
Dick, T 2011, “Click, and Facebook revises privacy”, The Student Modern Herald. <https://www.smh.com.au/technology/click-and-facebook-revises-privacy-20110930-1l1cr.html>.
Veer, V 2010, Facebook: The Missing Manual: The Missing Manual, O’Reilly Media Inc., California.
Warfel, E 2008, Perceptions of Privacy on Facebook, Rochester Institute of technology, Master’s Thesis.