When analyzing data mining and its issues, privacy is increasingly moving to the forefront of the discussion. Data is nothing more than information, and that information is inherent to data mining. Without large datasets, there would be no basis from which to glean useful patterns and predictions. With the advancement of technology, we are storing more and more of our data in the digital world. This makes things quicker and more convenient, but it also increases the possibility of companies using our personal information in ways we do not know about or agree with. To better understand how data mining can be an abuse of our private information we must first take a look at what privacy means in the digital age.
Privacy seems like a fairly fundamental right; an individual should be in control of his/her own information and have the ability to shield it from corporate or government eyes. To understand how you, as a citizen of the United States, are protected, you might try and find your “right to privacy” in the Constitution or Bill of Rights. Your search would be in vein, however; because surprisingly enough the Federal government does not explicitly guarantee this right. Instead, your “right to privacy” is derived implicitly from a combination of Constitutional amendments; mainly the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth (“Is there a Right to Privacy Amendment?”, 2019). The right to privacy has also been recognized in a few Supreme Court cases such as Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and the controversial Roe v. Wade (1973) (“The Right To Privacy” UKMC). The privacy aspect to these cases however, did not concern online data, but rather marital and bodily privacy respectively. US citizens clearly are afforded some privacy protections by the Federal government; but it is hard to discern just how much protection we have given this patchwork of laws and court rulings. This ambiguity is compounded by technological advancements which make our online information even more susceptible to novel and complex breaches of privacy. It is not a far-reaching conclusion to state that our Constitution lags behind technology with respect to our privacy rights. This failure has not gone unrecognized however, and here in the US we have taken some steps to ensure our information remains private in an increasingly digital age.
The most relevant context for this discussion can be found by analyzing social media platforms. Almost 70% of American adults use social media according to Pew Research (“Demographics of Social Media Users and Adoption in the United States”, 2019), which means they’ve entered personal information to create an account as well as posted their thoughts, feelings, and pictures online. Social media platforms are increasingly finding themselves in the crosshairs of the Federal government being forced to answer for various regulation breaches (Coldewey, 2019). But who actually regulates them? Again, there is no clear answer. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are the groups commonly referred to when one thinks of regulating social media, but their ability to do so is not at all comprehensive. The FCC usually gets involved when illegal content is posted to platforms but even then, their authority is hindered if the social media company makes a “good faith” effort to take down the information. (Coldewey, 2019) The FTC is responsible for “enforcing the truthfulness of material claims”, in this sense the agency is a reactive one (Coldewey, 2019). They do not create regulations for social media companies but can only hold them accountable for actions after the fact such as the $5 billion fine against Facebook for a breach in their own specified privacy policies. (Coldewey & Lomas 2019) In short, there are no Federal social media regulations, the companies have to come up with those themselves; and therefore, these organizations are somewhat ineffective because they can only step in when a social media company breaks its own rules.
Citizen’s right to privacy is a central aspect of individualism and freedom; values we highly cherish in the United States. In the past, individuals right to privacy may have been breached in more obvious ways such as unreasonable house searches; but with the advancement of technology, our information is becoming increasingly vulnerable to discrimination and misuse. In the digital age, we knowingly and willingly post our data online whether it be for a credit card company or to social media; that is a choice we actively make. When our information is analyzed and accessed without our knowledge or in ways we haven’t agreed to is when the practice becomes unethical. The process of data mining inherently involves analyzing an individual’s personal information. We do not see the computers and data scientists sifting through our personal information, and we are not notified when a social media company sells our data to a third-party advertiser. In recent years it is being revealed just how much power social media companies have over our data and by extension our own lives, and how ineffective our Constitution and Federal organizations are to protect us. This is largely due to the fact that there are no external regulations nor any one comprehensive law which guarantees our right to privacy with respect to online data. It is important to recognize how data mining can quickly become an unethical practice; personal information in the wrong hands can ruin lives, and we should be able to control how our data is being used and who gets to see it.
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