Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
School officials are becoming increasingly wary of TikTok amid concerns that the app poses a risk to student safety and privacy and makes the nation vulnerable to spies.
It’s pretty common to find people who are apathetic about their data being harvested and funnelled into unknown corners. But that’s usually because they don’t know what’s at stake.
Cookie notifications become a ubiquitous aspect of online life.
Mohssen Assanimoghaddam/picture alliance via Getty Images
There is no major online marketplace operating in Australia that sets a commendable standard for respecting consumers’ data privacy. Letting customers opt out of data tracking would be a good start.
Apple’s latest iPhone operating system lets you opt out of having your online habits tracked by the apps you use. That’s a big part of Facebook’s business model, but don’t expect a privacy revolution.
Companies are allowed to track users as much as they like — as long as they spell it out in the fine print. But a ground-breaking Australian legal judgement should give them pause.
Australia has hesitated in the past to adopt a strong privacy framework. A new government review provides an opportunity to improve data protection rules to an internationally competitive standard.
The documentary educates viewers about the problems social networks present to both our privacy and agency online. But it doesn’t really tell us how to fight the tide.
Two-factor authentication is certainly an added layer of security as we traverse the online world. But it comes in various forms, and they’re not all equally protective.