Introduction
- Describe the Cambridge Analytica scandal
- Focus on the fact that the users technically consented to the data gathering without realizing it
- Describe the concerns voiced by the users after the discovery of the breach
- Highlight the broader context surrounding privacy in the digital age
- Specific areas my research will tackle
- The mechanism of data gathering and analysis in the scandal
Potential uses of data gathering
- Political
- Marketing
- Manipulation
Its effect on society
- Erosion of privacy
- Increased manipulation by powerful entities
Thesis
The Cambridge Analytica scandal is a sign of potentially much more problematic future developments
Benefits of the research
Increase the public’s understanding of the threat of data gathering and selling
Body 1
- Data gathering mechanism
Source of the information
Online businesses:
Many online businesses gather and store their customers’ data, which they can then make available to third parties
Methods of processing the information
API-based research:
Datasets provided by companies such as Facebook can be analyzed for specific traits, producing detailed information on large groups of people (Venturini and Rogers 532)
Uses
Improved targeting:
By determining the preferences of a user group, marketers can tailor advertisements to their targets and target narrower groups with more specialized ads
Body 2
- Potential uses
Positive uses of the technology, such as research, exist
Potentially malicious or unethical applications
Political:
- Cambridge Analytica was accused of designing ads that would subtly influence people’s voting preferences in favor of one candidate (Hinds et al.)
Marketing:
- Companies can create advertisements that appeal strongly to their target audiences, spurring further consumption
Manipulation:
- People’s lack of understanding of how modern manipulation techniques based on API data work leads them to be vulnerable to deception due to a belief in their immunity to such efforts (Hinds et al.)
Body 3
Effects on society
Erosion of privacy:
- More and more products require the users to submit their data because of the benefits that this practice confers to the manufacturer
- People are starting to accept these policies as normal, valuing the convenience more than they are concerned about the risks (Fast and Jago 44)
- While the Cambridge Analytica scandal led to an outcry, few people left Facebook as a result (Brown)
- Eventually, even those concerned about their data may have to surrender it to participate in society fully
Increased manipulation:
- Democratic systems are notoriously prone to manipulation via public opinion, as history shows
- API research gives organizations with sufficient funding and power the tools to subtly influence people
- Such manipulation would be extremely challenging to detect or counter with the current mechanisms in place
Conclusion
The gathering and processing of millions of users’ data is invaluable for research, particularly in the fields of sociology and public health.
However, in its current state, it enables public and private actors to access and use it for malicious purposes.
Users are either not aware to what extent their information is being gathered or apathetic to it due to acceptance.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal is a single incident that indicates the existence of a much larger, likely still-unknown field or potential for one to emerge.
Measures to counter this issue, such as increased transparency, greater promotion of privacy, and promoting understanding of the implications of mass data collection, are necessary.
Works Cited
Brown, Allison J. “Should I Stay or Should I Leave?”: Exploring (Dis)continued Facebook Use After the Cambridge Analytica Scandal.” Social Media + Society, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, Web.
Fast, Nathanael J., and Arthur S. Jago. “Privacy Matters… Or Does It? Algorithms, Rationalization, and the Erosion of Concern for Privacy.” Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 31, 2020, 44-48.
Hinds, Joanne, Emma J. Williams, and Adam N. Joinson. ““It Wouldn’t Happen to Me”: Privacy Concerns and Perspectives Following the Cambridge Analytica Scandal.” International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, vol. 143, 2020, Web.
Venturini, Tommaso, and Richard Rogers. ““API-based research” or How Can Digital Sociology and Journalism Studies Learn from the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Data Breach.” Digital Journalism, vol. 7, no. 4, 2019, 532-540.