The world has transformed in recent years as the digital age takes hold. With so much of our lives now being lived through the internet and online, privacy has become an increasing issue in many people’s lives. Whether it’s shopping, communicating, or banking, our whole lives have become entwined with online platforms. With this switch to digitalization, our data has become a valuable commodity for many companies to help their marketing but also for hackers who have increased opportunities to exploit the wealth of personal data available.
The battle for digital privacy has become a major focus for many as they seek to keep out the prying eyes of those with malicious intent. Whether it be individuals, companies or even governments, there is an increasing intent on getting stronger digital privacy to keep people safe.
Whilst individuals can be aware of their data and what they share online to take steps to minimize their exposure to unwanted intruders and protect their privacy settings, they need further help from bigger influences such as governments and companies to ensure their data is protected. Enabling two-factor authentications and being cautious about what you expose on social media is a good place to start for individuals protecting their data but it needs more than this to keep many hackers out.
To help protect people and customers, tech companies and big businesses have adopted encryption tools in a bid to safeguard sensitive information. Social media companies like WhatsApp and Telegram, online betting platforms such as no KYC casino, and banks around the world have increased their protection policies in a bid to make the environment they expose their users to as safe as possible.
Some people have even adopted the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) such as Tor to tap into privacy-focused browsers that anonymize online activities and prevent hackers from tracking or exposing your pathways in the modern online environment.
As more people share increasing amounts online, governments have tried to combat the growing concerns around digital privacy safety by implementing some different legislations as a protective measure. The EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is perhaps the most notable of governmental strategies that fight for digital privacy. Enacted in 2018, it grants individuals the right to control their personal data and ensures companies have to seek consent before using that data. This mandate allows individuals to have more control of their data within the digital sphere and means they can delete or refrain from sharing information on certain platforms.
Across the pond in the US, California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides California residents rights over their data and provides people with similar rights to the GDPR law infringing foul use or collection without consent.
Despite these positive governmental policies there is scope for questions to be asked about governments being involved in the fight for digital privacy. Indeed, many countries have not adopted stringent data protection and in other nations around the world such as Russia and China, there is strict surveillance used by the state as part of their monitoring during the digital age. This allows the governments in these countries to access browsing history, monitor what websites the person is viewing, and have access to all sorts of personal data. With sophisticated surveillance tools, these regimes can easily control their population and the involvement of the state in individuals’ private lives starts to become a major ethical dilemma – perhaps warning signs that need to be addressed.
