Privacy is the protected and guaranteed right of the user, who uses certain internet applications (such as social media for example), to check that the information concerning him/her is treated in compliance with the rules that regulate it and, in particular, in compliance self-determination of the individual to their dissemination and contextually in the control of news concerning him/her. Anyone who uses the personal data of a subject is required in any case to issue an information notice (or in any case make a link available to connect to for information) to illustrate the purposes and methods of data processing. While the subject who provides their data can verify the correctness of the processing and, in some cases, withdraw their consent to the processing.
This article will investigate the case study of the processing of personal data according to the regulations stipulated by the European Union. The evolution of the network with the development of social networks has transformed the use of the internet by citizens and posed problems in the area of privacy protection, problems that prompt the European Commission to update the rules on the protection of personal data. such as those relating to informed consent. Informed consent is aimed at handing over the power over one’s personal data to the user through a double method:
- keep their dissemination under control;
- know who processes their data and for what purpose.
Clearly in the application of these rules in the virtual world, like the other regulations on the aforementioned topic, many problems are encountered, as the internet network due to its particular characteristics (not for anything else called world wild web) poses serious difficulties. The basic idea that has also inspired the European legislation on privacy is that in today’s information society the protection of personal data should not be considered as an obstacle to the circulation of information, but as one of the rules useful for a better functioning of the system by regulating and making transparent the flow of information to guarantee and protect the interested parties.
As regards the issue of social media, the European Commission highlighted the urgency and need to fill the legislative gaps. The recommendations indicated by the guarantors towards the providers of social network services mainly concern:
- transparency of information;
- control by users over the data concerning them;
- the default settings oriented to privacy;
- the strengthening of control measures in order to prevent unauthorized access to user profiles by third parties, for example by means of spidering devices;
- the simplification of withdrawal from the service;
- the user’s prior consent so that their profile data are indexed.
Facebook is the most striking and most representative example in the category of Social Networks. Its success is due to the ease of use which, together with the free service, have been able to involve an impressive number of people. The use of this communication tool, however, presents many risks for the user’s privacy:
- when you subscribe on Facebook, automatically and without the user’s prior consent, the user’s name is indexed on search engines outside the network so that his data and his image are exposed and visible to any third party (even not registered with the community);
- as for the right to cancel, the user is not placed in the conditions of being able to easily withdraw from the service as no indication is given on the main page but only by accessing the “settings” area it is possible to cancel the account. Furthermore, all information, images and personal data are not immediately removed but remain on the server for an indefinite period of time (for any re-access to the network by the “repentant” user), contrary to what the user requests.
To conclude, it is also important to refer to the right to be “forgotten”. We can define the latter as the user’s right to be forgotten in relation to data that is prejudicial, irrelevant, unnecessary or not connected with news events, i.e. the right to be able to completely delete their personal data, often from the same inserted, in search engines and social networks. This right is invoked above all by the weakest subjects, adolescents and very young people who insert material which they may later regret.
A lot of personal information often circulates on the net from inexperienced users that allow traceability and an easy definition of the profile. Any data posted on the internet is forever on the internet. This fact leads to even more serious harmful consequences for the weak user:
- persecutory acts; although the configuration of the crime of stalking via email is denied, the harasser, through the use of the internet (think especially of Facebook where events of this type are known), can steal sensitive data and easily reach identification of the places frequented by the victim and engaging in his criminal conduct;
- allow the action of scammers of all kinds, from identity thieves to “things” thieves.
Ermes Amato
References:
Diritti e Risposte, La privacy nei social media, available at: Link
State of Mind, Nulla sfugge ai social: una spinta gentile per ricordarlo, available at: Link
Diritto Francesco Brugaletta, Internet e le nuove frontiere di tutela della privacy, availabe at: Link
The public voice, Privacy: Background, available at: Link
PrivacyInternational, What Is Privacy?, available at: Link
Teachprivacy, 10 Reasons Why Privacy Matters, available at: Link
LifeLock, What Is Data Privacy and Why Is it Important?, available at: Link
The New Yorker, Why Do We Care So Much About Privacy?, available at: Link
