It is important for social media users to realize that social networks are not fully concerned with the probability of misuse of their personal information. Social media sites release personal information to the market without the permission of users. They use the personal information of their customers without their consent, which is illegal as stipulated in OECD privacy principles.
Social networks use the enormous amounts of data that contains their customer’s information for financial gains. The situation is different with other sites. For example, sites such as Google and Facebook adhere to OECD principle s.
Despite their efforts to include a privacy policy on their site, the provision is not sufficient. They fulfill OECD requirements selectively because for example, they adhere to OECD principles in Germany but fail to adhere to them in Saudi Arabia. Facebook agreed to erase personal information collected from users in the European Union when it established a facial-recognition feature for its site.
A through reading of the OECD principles reveals that organizations such as Google and Facebook do not adhere to them as expected. For example, the two organizations:
- Reiterate the need for individuals to present their real names when registering.
- Request users to give personal information such as their full names, home addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone or mobile phone numbers.
- Regularly use the age of their customers for advertising purposes or for marketing third-party applications.
The involvement of the society is necessary for effective tackling of social issues that are associated with privacy. The key to solving the problem is creating awareness and sensitizing users of social media on the importance of privacy.
It is important for us to unite in an effort to improve the security of our personal information on the internet. Active involvement of Governments and organizations such as OECD will ensure that the privacy of users is guaranteed whenever they access the internet.
Principles and Law
According to OECD, all countries take into account the status of existing laws in terms of their strengths and limitations when developing new laws to deal with privacy issues. This reiterates the importance of cooperation among members of OECD in ensuring the privacy of users by preventing violations of the principles.
For example, members should not deter the flow of information among themselves by compromising the process of implementing the principles. For new OECD members, cooperation involves consultation with other members in developing legislations for their countries.
Morals are the foundation of the OECD principles. They are defined as the guiding principles that determine the behavior that parties adopt in determining what is right or wrong in an agreement.
They do not have an outlined structure but depend on mutual understanding and responsibility by involved parties. OECD principles are based on laws and morals and form the foundation on which the privacy laws of individual countries are developed.
Countries use the principles and morals that enforce customer privacy to develop regulations that give them the mandate to punish violators of privacy laws and procedures. The government, through the legislature, enacts laws that foster privacy and ensure fair treatment of all people because they contain provisions that allow individuals to request for compensation when their privacy is violated or breached.