“In the United States, federal law does not provide uniform privacy protections for personal data submitted to search engines or for IP addresses,” according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). Closer to home, within the European Union, search engines can retain data for six months, without needing any consent. Six months may seem a short period of time but billions of people could pole their nose into that data in that short period.
Privacy is continuously being worn thin because, with the use of social networks, people publicise details, at times, quite intimate about their personal life. A simple everyday photo can be seen by anyone who has access to the Internet. The so-famous "Selfies’ have gone viral throughout social networks, baring the identity of the person.
Do people realise that they are being judged by what they do and what they post on the Internet? Savvy employers often do a thorough online research about their employees in order to know where their interests lie and what makes them tick. An apparently harmless post or picture could blow up anyone’s chance of getting or keeping the desired job.
Facebook, Messenger, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Skype, Twitter and Whatsapp are but a few of the various social networking websites. These are all public, even though there is the "Friends Only’ option. People can still share what you post, so others outside your friends’ circle can see it. So why should others care about your privacy if you are the first one who is throwing all the care in the wind and posting things online? Just a simple click of a button and your post becomes everyone’s post.
I interviewed a 20-year-old unemployed Maltese woman about this matter. She uses the Internet mostly for research and study and even for leisure time to connect with friends and families living abroad. The networking websites she frequently uses are Facebook, Skype, Messenger and Whatsapp.
When asked whether she gives a lot of thought before posting something online, she answered that the only thought is related to who of her friends might see it. Thus, it has nothing to do with privacy. Even though she realises that once something is online, it is there for the whole world to see, she’s not too bothered by the thought. Asked why, her answer was: “Because if you post good things, then it shouldn’t be a problem to decide whether to post them or not.”
But since it is public, people can still show in a bad light the “good things”. This is one of the main issues people don’t seem to take into consideration before clicking "Post’. So, in reality, does Internet privacy exist in the modern day? According to this 20-year-old, privacy does exist but is not given much importance.
People can just know who you are without ever meeting you in person or even talk to you. All they need to do is a little research on the Internet and they will find out your name, date of birth, where you live, where you study and work, and what your passions are. Why bother making a distance to meet up with a person when you can just search him/her online?