Everywhere you go, you are closely watched. Every movement you make, every decision you come to, everything you view, everything you think is analyzed and then sold for profit. That may not be the case in the real world, but that is how we are all being tracked in the digital world. In fact, that is the primary source of income for social media companies; they make most of their money by collecting and selling their users’ data. Since this practice is obviously unethical, social media sites should limit how much data they collect and sell from their users. 

The worst aspect of the mass surveillance system that is used across social media platforms that billions of people use worldwide is the invasion of privacy that comes along with it. Privacy is such an important thing to maintain if one wants to have a good quality life, it should be regarded as a human right. Stripping it away from people for profit should be considered criminal, but it is a widely accepted practice for social media companies. According to Kalev Leetaru from Forbes, The web has become a dystopian surveillance state in which companies stalk their unsuspecting victims across the web, extracting maximal profit from removing any shred of privacy or dignity and socializing the risk of data breach or damage to the user, while privatizing all the monetary benefit of exploiting them. This practice treats users like products, shipping out all of their personal data to whatever developers or corporations want them. This completely violates any privacy that the users had, leaving them completely exposed to whoever pays the right price. This is why regulating the use of data is a must.

Putting regulations on social media companies for data collection is one of the only ways to protect the public’s personal information from being used for profit. It is up to governments around the world to set up these appropriate regulations for social media platforms. Abby McCourt from Yale Law School states, Regulation of the use of social media data is important to protect freedom of expression among users of social media.  If users feel that their usage of social media can be used freely by third-party corporations, they will likely feel guarded in their future use of these platforms or will cease using them all together. Making sure that users feel safe online should be a major priority for social media corporations and governments. Regulating data collection is how these organizations can prove that they do prioritize the public’s right to privacy. 

With the usage of social media growing everyday and with no sign of stopping, placing regulations on data collection is more important than ever. The fact that these social media companies could receive profit in numerous other ways, like placing ads on their platforms or charging a fee for users, makes the practice of data collection so unnecessarily invasive. The reassurance of knowing that I could actually have privacy when I am online would mean the world to me. 

Works Consulted

Leetaru, Kalev. “What Does It Mean For Social Media Platforms To ‘Sell’ Our Data.” Forbes, 15 Dec. 2018, forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2018/12/15/what-does-it-mean-for-social-media-platforms-to-sell-our-data/?sh=4331638a2d6c. Accessed 28 Apr. 2022.

McCourt, Abby. “Social Media Mining: The Effects of Big Data in the Age of Social Media.” Yale Law School, 3 Apr. 2018, law.yale.edu/mfia/case-disclosed/social-media-mining-effects-big-data-age-social-media. Accessed 28 Apr. 2022.