tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/online-data-55890/articlesOnline data – The Conversation2024-02-26T19:00:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2240722024-02-26T19:00:27Z2024-02-26T19:00:27Z70% of Australians don’t feel in control of their data as companies hide behind meaningless privacy terms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577785/original/file-20240226-26-ihj4ej.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=697%2C117%2C4296%2C3034&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/smart-technologies-your-smartphone-collection-analysis-1490310101">Trismegist san/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian consumers don’t understand how companies – including data brokers – track, target and profile them. This is revealed in new research on consumer understanding of privacy terms, released by the non-profit <a href="https://cprc.org.au/">Consumer Policy Research Centre</a> and UNSW Sydney today. </p>
<p><a href="https://cprc.org.au/report/singled-out">Our report</a> also reveals 70% of Australians feel they have little or no control over how their data is disclosed between companies. Many expressed anger, frustration and distrust. </p>
<p>These findings are particularly important as the government considers <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/publications/government-response-privacy-act-review-report">long-overdue reforms to our privacy legislation</a>, and the consumer watchdog finalises its <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/inquiries-and-consultations/digital-platform-services-inquiry-2020-25/march-2024-interim-report">upcoming report on data brokers</a>.</p>
<p>If Australians are to have any hope of fair and trustworthy data handling, the government must stop companies from <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3432769">hiding their practices</a> behind confusing and misleading privacy terms and mandate fairness in data handling. </p>
<h2>We are all being tracked</h2>
<p>Our activities online and offline are constantly tracked by various companies, including <a href="https://cprc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/CPRC-Submission-Data-brokers-ACCC-August-2023.pdf">data brokers</a> that trade in our personal information.</p>
<p>This includes data about our activity and purchases on websites and apps, relationship status, children, financial circumstances, life events, health concerns, search history and location. </p>
<p>Many businesses focus their efforts on finding new ways to track and profile us, despite repeated evidence that consumers view this as <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/about-us/publications/digital-platforms-inquiry-final-report">misuse of their personal information</a>.</p>
<p>Companies describe the data they collect in confusing and unfamiliar terms. Much of this wording seems designed to prevent us from understanding or objecting to the use and disclosure of our personal information, often collected in surreptitious ways.</p>
<p>Businesses can use your data <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3432769">to make more profit at your expense</a>. This includes</p>
<ul>
<li>charging you a higher price</li>
<li>preventing you from seeing better offers</li>
<li>micro-targeting political messages or ads based on your health information</li>
<li>reducing the priority you’re given in customer service</li>
<li>creating a profile (which you’ll never see) to share with a prospective employer, insurer or landlord.</li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-law-makes-it-illegal-for-companies-to-collect-third-party-data-to-profile-you-but-they-do-anyway-190758">This law makes it illegal for companies to collect third-party data to profile you. But they do anyway</a>
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<h2>Anonymised, pseudonymised, hashed</h2>
<p>Businesses commonly try to argue this information is “<a href="https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1988108/s6.html#de-identified">de-identified</a>” or not “<a href="https://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1988108/s6.html#personal_information">personal</a>”, to avoid running afoul of the federal Privacy Act in which these terms are defined.</p>
<p>But many privacy policies muddy the waters by using other, undefined terms. They create the impression data can’t be used to single out the consumer or influence what they’re shown online – even when it can.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-shady-world-of-the-data-industry-strips-away-our-freedoms-143823">How the shady world of the data industry strips away our freedoms</a>
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<p>Privacy policies commonly refer to:</p>
<ul>
<li>anonymised data</li>
<li>pseudonymised information</li>
<li>hashed emails</li>
<li>audience data</li>
<li>aggregated information.</li>
</ul>
<p>These terms have no legal definition and no fixed meaning in practice. </p>
<p>Data brokers and other companies may use “pseudonymised information” or “hashed email addresses” (essentially, encrypted addresses) to create detailed profiles. These will be shared with other businesses without our knowledge. They do this by matching the information collected about us by various companies in different parts of our lives. </p>
<p>“Anonymised information” – not a legal term in Australia – may sound like it wouldn’t reveal anything about an individual consumer. Some companies use it when only a person’s name and email have been removed, but we can still be identified by other unique or rare characteristics.</p>
<h2>What did our survey find?</h2>
<p>Our survey showed Australians do not feel in control of their personal information. More than 70% of consumers believe they have very little or no control over what personal information online businesses share with other companies.</p>
<p><iframe id="mJYfr" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mJYfr/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Only a third of consumers feel they have at least moderate control over whether businesses use their personal information to create a profile about them.</p>
<p>Most consumers have no understanding of common terms in privacy notices, such as “hashed email address” or “advertising ID” (a unique ID usually assigned to one’s device).</p>
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<p>And it’s likely to be worse than these statistics suggest, since some consumers may overestimate their knowledge.</p>
<p>The terms refer to data widely used to track and influence us without our knowledge. However, when consumers don’t recognise descriptions of personal information, they’re less likely to know whether that data could be used to single them out for tracking, influencing, profiling, discrimination or exclusion. </p>
<p>Most consumers either don’t know, or think it unlikely, that “pseudonymised information”, a “hashed email address” or “advertising ID” can be used to single them out from the crowd. They can. </p>
<p>Most consumers think it’s unacceptable for businesses they have no direct relationship with to use their email address, IP address, device information, search history or location data. However, data brokers and other “data partners” not in direct contact with consumers commonly use such data. </p>
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<p>Consumers are understandably frustrated, anxious and angry about the unfair and untrustworthy ways organisations make use of their personal information and expose them to increased risk of data misuse. </p>
<h2>Fairness, not ‘education’</h2>
<p>Simply educating consumers about the terms used by companies and the ways their data is shared may seem an obvious solution. </p>
<p>However, we don’t recommend this for three reasons. Firstly, we can’t be sure of the meaning of undefined terms. Companies will likely keep coming up with new ones.</p>
<p>Secondly, it’s unreasonable to place the burden of understanding complex data ecosystems on consumers who naturally lack expertise in these areas.</p>
<p>Thirdly, “education” is pointless when consumers are not given real choices about the use of their data. </p>
<p>Urgent law reform is needed to make Australian privacy protections fit for the digital era. This should include clarifying that information that <a href="https://brusselsprivacyhub.eu/publications/BPH-Working-Paper-VOL6-N24.pdf">singles an individual out from the crowd</a> is “personal information”.</p>
<p>We also need a “fair and reasonable” test for data handling, instead of take-it-or-leave-it privacy “consents”. </p>
<p>Most of us can’t avoid participating in the digital economy. These changes would help ensure that instead of confusing privacy terms, there are substantial, meaningful legal requirements for how our personal information is handled.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/proposed-privacy-reforms-could-help-australia-play-catch-up-with-other-nations-but-they-fail-to-tackle-targeted-ads-200166">Proposed privacy reforms could help Australia play catch-up with other nations. But they fail to tackle targeted ads</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katharine Kemp receives funding from the UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law and Innovation. She is a Member of the Expert Panel of the Consumer Policy Research Centre, and the Australian Privacy Foundation.</span></em></p>We’re being tracked, targeted and profiled by businesses and data brokers. A new report on consumer data handling shows we need an urgent update of privacy laws.Katharine Kemp, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law & Justice, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2182942023-12-08T16:14:45Z2023-12-08T16:14:45ZHow to protect yourself from cyber-scammers over the festive period<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562490/original/file-20231129-26-z85wnz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6134%2C3228&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As online shopping increases over the festive period, so does the risk of cyber-scams. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/merry-xmas-eve-online-shopping-store-2089436578">Chay Tee/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The festive season is a time for joy, family and festive cheer. However, it’s also a prime target for cybercriminals. As online shopping ramps up, so does the risk of falling prey to cyber-attacks. That’s why it’s crucial to be extra vigilant about your <a href="https://blog.tctg.co.uk/12-cyber-security-tips-of-christmas">cybersecurity</a> during this time. </p>
<p>Here are some essential tips to safeguard yourself and your data during the festive period:</p>
<h2>Phishing</h2>
<p>Phishing is when criminals use scam emails, text messages or phone calls to trick their victims. Their <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams">goal</a> is often to make you visit a certain website, which may download a virus on to your computer, or steal bank details or other personal data. </p>
<p>This type of scam tends to <a href="https://www.egress.com/blog/phishing/holiday-phishing-scam-guide">increase</a> at this time due to the amount of people having bought or received new gadgets and technology. </p>
<p>Look out for there being no direct reference to your name in any communications, with wording such as “Dear Sir/Madam” or other terms such as “valued customer” being used instead. Grammar and spelling mistakes are also often present. </p>
<p>Be wary of any suspicious links or attachments within emails too, and don’t click them. It’s better to contact the company directly to check if the message is genuine. You can also <a href="https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams">report</a> suspicious messages and phishing scams to the government’s National Cyber Security Centre. </p>
<h2>Shopping safely online</h2>
<p>The convenience of online shopping is undeniable, especially during the festive season. However, it’s crucial to prioritise your security when buying online. </p>
<p>Before entering your personal and financial information on any website, ensure it’s legitimate and secure. Look for the “https” in the address bar and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-vast-majority-of-us-have-no-idea-what-the-padlock-icon-on-our-internet-browser-is-and-its-putting-us-at-risk-216581">padlock</a> icon, which indicates a secure and encrypted connection. </p>
<p>When creating passwords for online shopping accounts, use strong, unique combinations of letters, numbers and symbols. Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts, as a breach on one site could compromise all your others.</p>
<p>As with shopping in the real world, be cautious when encountering offers that are significantly below usual prices or which make extravagant promises. Always conduct thorough research on the seller and product before making a purchase. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. </p>
<p>And if you are out shopping in towns or city centres, there will often be a large number of public wifi options available to you. However, criminals can intercept the data that is transferred across such open and unsecured wifi. So, avoid using public wifi where possible, especially when conducting any financial transactions. </p>
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<img alt="A person sits at a laptop with a coffee surrounded by festive packages." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/562672/original/file-20231130-21-u6r9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Stay vigilant, exercise caution and don’t let your excitement for gifts and deliveries compromise your cybersecurity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/christmas-online-shopping-top-view-female-520279837">Prostock-studio/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Social media</h2>
<p>While social media platforms provide people with a means to keep in touch with family and friends over the festive period, they are often a goldmine for <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-spot-a-social-media-scam-aMtwF3u1XKGt">scams</a> and malware (software designed to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorised access to a computer). In the spirit of the festive season, people often share an abundance of personal information on social media, often without considering the potential consequences. </p>
<p>This trove of data can make people vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Scammers can exploit this information to gain unauthorised access to social media accounts, steal personal information, or even commit identity theft. To protect yourself, be mindful of what you share. </p>
<p>Be wary when interacting with posts and direct messages, especially if they contain suspicious links or attachments. Before clicking on anything, hover over the link to verify its destination. If it shows a website you don’t recognise or seems unrelated to the message, do not click on it. If you receive a message from someone you know but the content seems strange or out of character, contact them directly through a trusted channel to verify its authenticity. </p>
<p>Likewise, be wary of messages containing urgent requests for money or personal information from businesses. Genuine organisations will never solicit sensitive details through social media.</p>
<p>There are many buy and sell platforms available on social media. But while such platforms can be a great place to find a unique gift, it is also important to remember that not all sellers may be legitimate. So, it’s vital that you don’t share your bank details. If the seller sends a link to purchase the item, do not use it. When meeting to collect an item, it’s generally safer to use cash rather than transferring funds electronically.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Advice for staying safe online.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Package delivery scams</h2>
<p>As well as being a time for giving and receiving gifts, the festive season is also ripe for cybercriminals to exploit the excitement surrounding <a href="https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/about-us1/media/press-releases/scams-linked-to-parcel-deliveries-come-top-in-2023/">package deliveries</a>. </p>
<p>Scammers often pose as legitimate delivery companies, sending emails or text messages claiming that a delivery attempt was unsuccessful or requiring additional fees for processing, or even customs clearance. Typically, these messages contain links or phone numbers that, when clicked or called, lead to fake websites or automated phone systems designed to collect personal information or payments.</p>
<p>To protect yourself, always verify the legitimacy of any delivery notifications you receive. Check the sender’s email address or phone number against the official contact information for the delivery company. If the information doesn’t match or seems suspicious, don’t click any links or provide personal details. </p>
<p>Legitimate delivery companies will never ask for upfront payment or sensitive information through unsolicited messages or calls. </p>
<p>Remember, cybercriminals are skilled at manipulating the festive spirit to their advantage. Stay vigilant, exercise caution, and don’t let your excitement for gifts and deliveries compromise your cybersecurity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218294/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Medhurst does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cyber-scams tend to ramp up at this time of year, with criminals and scammers eager to exploit people’s generosity and excitement.Rachael Medhurst, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security NCSA, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2016202023-10-10T15:32:01Z2023-10-10T15:32:01ZDark patterns: how online companies strive to keep your money and data when you try to leave<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/552569/original/file-20231006-21-d5zhzf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C5582%2C3707&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-view-on-conceptual-keyboard-terms-354145511">Artem Samokhvalov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you signed up to an online service for a free trial, decided it isn’t for you, but still ended up paying for it months – or even years – later? Or tried cancelling a subscription, and found yourself giving up during the painstaking process? If so, there’s a good chance you have encountered a “dark pattern”.</p>
<p><a href="https://harrybr.medium.com/bringing-dark-patterns-to-light-d86f24224ebf">Dark patterns</a> are clever tricks built into apps and websites to encourage you to do things you may not necessarily want to do. They make it easy to “accept all” tracking cookies for example, and swiftly agree to terms and conditions while you hurry along with making your purchase. </p>
<p>They also make it easy to sign up to a service – but time consuming and frustrating to leave. And <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioural-public-policy/article/dark-patterns-and-sludge-audits-an-integrated-approach/8675A269B8FE79D2ECE0A8952D182C0B">our recent research</a> shows how most of the time they benefit companies at the expense of consumers.</p>
<p>This imbalance has not gone unnoticed by regulators. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which aims to protect consumers from unfair business practices, believes <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/09/ftc-report-shows-rise-sophisticated-dark-patterns-designed-trick-trap-consumers">an increasing number</a> of companies are “using digital dark patterns to trick people into buying products and giving away their personal information”. </p>
<p>For instance, the FTC is currently <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/ftc-takes-action-against-amazon-enrolling-consumers-amazon-prime-without-consent-sabotaging-their">investigating Amazon</a> over its alleged use of dark patterns to enrol customers into its Prime service, while making it difficult for them to leave. Our research supports the <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/06/ftc-takes-action-against-amazon-enrolling-consumers-amazon-prime-without-consent-sabotaging-their">agency’s observation that</a> “consumers who attempted to cancel Prime were faced with multiple steps to actually accomplish the task of cancelling”. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-full-response">a statement on its website</a>, Amazon said the suit showed the FTC’s “misunderstanding of retail”. It also <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-criticizes-burdensome-ftc-probe-into-prime-2022-08-16/">said</a>: “We make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/us-regulator-is-suing-amazon-heres-what-this-could-mean-for-your-online-shopping-214669">US regulator is suing Amazon – here's what this could mean for your online shopping</a>
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<p>The FTC is <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4575923">not alone in its concerns</a> about dark patterns. The EU recently <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_20_2348">passed legislation</a> which can be used to fine companies that use dark patterns, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/consumer-duty-higher-standards-financial-services">launched rules</a> designed to protect consumers from dark patterns in financial services. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently announced its first investigation into dark patterns with an <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1146747/OCA_business_open_letter_FINAL.pdf">open letter</a> warning business against what it calls “harmful online choice architectures”.</p>
<p>“Choice architecture” is a term coined by the authors of the extremely <a href="https://theconversation.com/nudge-theory-what-15-years-of-research-tells-us-about-its-promises-and-politics-210534">popular and influential</a> book <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/%7Etleonard/reviews/nudge.pdf">Nudge</a>. They describe it as the “the design of different ways in which choices can be presented to decision makers”.</p>
<p>For instance, a “choice architect” could help a consumer by reducing the amount of irrelevant information presented to them, allowing space for a considered, focused decision to be made. But most dark patterns work by <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066524/Online_choice_architecture_discussion_paper.pdf">manipulating choice architecture</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than helping consumers, the architecture is designed to hinder choice. So instead of removing irrelevant material, it may bombard a user with excessive information, extra steps and distractions to stop them cancelling a subscription. </p>
<p>As the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1066524/Online_choice_architecture_discussion_paper.pdf">CMA notes</a>, in today’s online world “businesses can design and control every aspect of their interactions with us to an extent that is unprecedented in traditional brick and mortar businesses”. </p>
<p>Research suggests the CMA is right, and that online companies have an almost unlimited ability to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X22002585">refine their interactions</a> with consumers. Online experiences are <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioural-public-policy/article/abs/personalized-nudging/E854A04226DEA94B623ECA2ACF64C8D0">increasingly personalised</a>, and tech-savvy firms have more ways than ever to engage with – and manipulate – us.</p>
<h2>Seeing the light</h2>
<p>And while regulators tend to focus on dark patterns as a way of getting consumers to part with their money or data, others have <a href="https://www.deceptive.design/book">expressed concerns</a> about potential psychological harms and a loss of freedom by users of online services. </p>
<p>With these risks in mind, we have used insights from behavioural science to identify some of the processes which <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioural-public-policy/article/dark-patterns-and-sludge-audits-an-integrated-approach/8675A269B8FE79D2ECE0A8952D182C0B">make dark patterns work</a> and created a simple framework to describe the most pervasive strategies. “Detours” for example, is the name we have given to the tools used to delay and distract us, such as requiring an excessive number of actions to cancel a subscription. </p>
<p>“Roundabouts” try to bore or frustrate us to the point of giving up, like clicking on link after link, taking users round in circles. And “shortcuts” offer an immediately easy – but potentially costly – choice, like the “accept all” buttons on cookie prompts or requests to accept terms and conditions. In <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2757465">one study</a>, a particularly long terms and conditions document led 98% of participants to agree to hand over their firstborn child as payment. </p>
<p>Our framework of terms is designed for simplicity – to empower consumers to spot dark patterns themselves, and to help regulators intervene. For the freedom to create and delete accounts for a service is a fundamental step in navigating the online world. </p>
<p>And it should not be drastically more straightforward to set up a social media account than it is to delete it. There is no good reason for detours, roundabouts and shortcuts to get in the way. We believe it should be as easy – if not easier – to delete an account as it is to create one. Most of the services we examined failed this standard.</p>
<p>Without consumer push back and regulatory muscle, the online world is likely to become even harder for ordinary people to navigate. On the plus side, regulators seem to be stepping up, and new tools for protecting consumers from dark patterns are emerging. There may yet be light at the end of this manipulative tunnel.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Whittle receives funding from the ESRC, Research England, and various industry sources including AJ Bell and the Money Advice Service. The research mentioned in this article was supported by the Research England CAPE and Y-PERN awards.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Mills does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why it’s so much easier to sign up to a service than it is to leave.Richard Whittle, University Fellow in AI and Human Decision Making, University of SalfordStuart Mills, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1850382022-06-19T19:53:40Z2022-06-19T19:53:40ZInsurance firms can skim your online data to price your insurance — and there’s little in the law to stop this<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469391/original/file-20220617-24-txo2j0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=58%2C69%2C7684%2C5084&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What if your insurer was tracking your online data to price your car insurance? Seems far-fetched, right? </p>
<p>Yet there is predictive value in the digital traces we leave online. And insurers may use data collection and analytics tools to find our data and use it to price insurance services. </p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27849366/">some</a> <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350525424_Smartphone_Operating_System_Preference_Based_On_Different_Personality_Lifestyle_Traits_Of_The_Consumer">studies</a> <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w24771#fromrss">have</a> found a correlation between whether an individual uses an Apple or Android phone and their likelihood of exhibiting certain personality traits. </p>
<p>In one example, US insurance broker Jerry analysed the driving behaviour of some 20,000 people to conclude Android users are <a href="https://getjerry.com/studies/sorry-iphone-fans-android-users-are-safer-drivers">safer drivers</a> than iPhone users. What’s stopping insurers from referring to such reports to price their insurance?</p>
<p>Our latest <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0267364922000152">research</a> shows Australian consumers have no real control over how data about them, and posted by them, might be collected and used by insurers. </p>
<p>Looking at several examples from customer loyalty schemes and social media, we found insurers can access vast amounts of consumer data under Australia’s <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/integrity/consultations/review-privacy-act-1988">weak privacy laws</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person's hands are visible holding an Apple phone on the left (screen facing forward), and a generic Android on the right." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469394/original/file-20220617-21-k84rhp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How would you feel if a detail as menial as the brand of your phone was used to price your car insurance?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Your data is already out there</h2>
<p>Insurers are already using big data to price consumer insurance through personalised pricing, according to evidence gathered by industry regulators in the <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/feedback/fs16-05.pdf">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="https://register.eiopa.europa.eu/Publications/EIOPA_BigDataAnalytics_ThematicReview_April2019.pdf">European Union</a> and <a href="https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/circular_letters/cl2019_01">United States</a>.</p>
<p>Consumers often “agree” to all kinds of data collection and privacy policies, such as those used in loyalty schemes (who doesn’t like freebies?) and by social media companies. But they have no control over how their data are used once it’s handed over.</p>
<p>There are far-reaching inferences that can be drawn from data collected through loyalty programs and social media platforms – and these may be uncomfortable, or even highly sensitive.</p>
<p>Researchers using data analytics and machine learning have claimed to build models that can guess a person’s sexual orientation from pictures of <a href="https://osf.io/zn79k/">their face</a>, or their suicidal tendencies from <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214782915000160">posts on Twitter</a>.</p>
<p>Think about all the details revealed from a grocery shopping history alone: diet, household size, addictions, health conditions and social background, among others. In the case of social media, a user’s posts, pictures, likes, and links to various groups can be used to draw a precise picture of that individual.</p>
<p>What’s more is Australia has a <a href="https://www.cdr.gov.au/">Consumer Data Right</a> which already requires banks to share consumers’ banking data (at the consumer’s request) with another bank or app, such as to access a new service or offer. </p>
<p>The regime is actively being expanded to other parts of the economy including the energy sector, with the idea being competitors could use information on energy usage to make competitive offers. </p>
<p>The Consumer Data Right is advertised as <a href="https://www.cdr.gov.au/">empowering</a> for consumers – enabling access to new services and offers, and providing people with choice, convenience and control over their data. </p>
<p>In practice, however, it means insurance firms accredited under the program can require you to share your banking data in exchange for insurance services.</p>
<p>The previous Coalition government also <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/jane-hume-2020/media-releases/more-power-compare-and-switch-telco-providers-and-share">proposed “open finance”</a>, which would expand the Consumer Data Right to include access to your insurance and superannuation data. This hasn’t happened yet, but it’s likely the new Albanese government will look into it.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/soft-terms-like-open-and-sharing-dont-tell-the-true-story-of-your-data-95521">Soft terms like 'open' and 'sharing' don't tell the true story of your data</a>
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<h2>Why more data in insurers’ hands may be bad news</h2>
<p>There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about insurers collecting and using increasingly detailed data about people for insurance pricing and claims management. </p>
<p>For one, large-scale data collection provides incentives for cyber attacks. Even if data is held in anonymised form, it can be <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/24/researchers-spotlight-the-lie-of-anonymous-data/">re-identified</a> with the right tools. </p>
<p>Also, insurers may be able to infer (or at least think they can infer) facts about an individual which they want to keep private, such as their sexual orientation, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/?sh=794d21176668">pregnancy</a> status or religious beliefs. </p>
<p>There’s plenty of evidence the outputs of artificial intelligence tools employed in mass data analytics can be inaccurate and discriminatory. Insurers’ decisions may then be based on misleading or untrue data. And these tools are so complex it’s often difficult to work out if, or where, errors or bias are present.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A magnifying glass hovers over a Facebook post's likes" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469396/original/file-20220617-13-58ptct.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Each day, people post personal information online. And much of it can be easily accessed by others.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Although insurers are meant to pool risk and compensate the unlucky, some might use data to only offer affordable insurance to very low-risk people. Vulnerable consumers may face <a href="https://actuaries.logicaldoc.cloud/download-ticket?ticketId=09c77750-aa90-4ba9-835e-280ae347487b">exclusion</a>. </p>
<p>A more widespread use of data, especially via the Consumer Data Right, will especially disadvantage those who are unable or unwilling to share data with insurers. These people may be low risk, but if they can’t or won’t prove this, they’ll have to pay more than a fair price for their insurance cover. </p>
<p>They may even pay more than what they would have in a pre-Consumer Data Right world. So insurance may move <em>further</em> from a fair price when more personal data are available to insurance firms. </p>
<h2>We need immediate action</h2>
<p>Our <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SydLawRw/2021/20.html">previous research</a> demonstrated that apart from anti-discrimination laws, there are inadequate constraints on how insurers are allowed to use consumers’ data, such as those taken from online sources. </p>
<p>The more insurers base their assessments on data a consumer didn’t directly provide, the harder it will be for that person to understand how their “riskiness” is being assessed. If an insurer requests your transaction history from the last five years, would you know what they are looking for? Such problems will be exacerbated by the expansion of the Consumer Data Right.</p>
<p>Interestingly, insurance firms themselves might <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/can-we-open-the-black-box-of-ai-1.20731">not know</a> how collected data translates into risk for a specific consumer. If their approach is to simply feed data into a complex and opaque artificial intelligence system, all they’ll know is they’re getting a supposedly “better” risk assessment with more data.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/bunnings-kmart-and-the-good-guys-say-they-use-facial-recognition-for-loss-prevention-an-expert-explains-what-it-might-mean-for-you-185126">reports</a> of retailers collecting shopper data for facial recognition have highlighted how important it is for the Albanese government to urgently reform <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/integrity/consultations/review-privacy-act-1988">our privacy laws</a>, and take a close look at other data laws, including proposals to <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/review/statutory-review-consumer-data-right">expand the Consumer Data Right</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hidden-costs-manipulation-forced-continuity-report-reveals-how-australian-consumers-are-being-duped-online-184450">Hidden costs, manipulation, forced continuity: report reveals how Australian consumers are being duped online</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185038/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zofia Bednarz receives funding from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence on Automated Decision-Making and Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kayleen Manwaring receives funding from the UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law & Innovation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kimberlee Weatherall receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence on Automated Decision-Making and Society, and a Fellow with the Gradient Institute.</span></em></p>There’s little transparency surrounding how insurance firms collect, analyse and use our personal data when they establish insurance costs.Zofia Bednarz, Lecturer in Commercial Law, University of SydneyKayleen Manwaring, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW Allens Hub for Technology, Law & Innovation and Senior Lecturer, School of Private & Commercial Law, UNSW Law & Justice, UNSW SydneyKimberlee Weatherall, Professor of Law, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1795852022-04-06T10:04:31Z2022-04-06T10:04:31ZYour forgotten digital footprints could step on your job prospects – here’s how to clean up<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456569/original/file-20220406-18-d2yyu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=211%2C70%2C6327%2C4396&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shocked-afraid-worried-young-indian-girl-1606120423">fizkes / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Applying for a new (or first) job can be time consuming. The job application process, particularly for graduate schemes, involves multiple steps: tailoring your application, psychometric testing, interviews and participation in a day or more of assessments online or in person.</p>
<p>The process can also involve intrusive scrutiny of your digital footprints. Behind the scenes, up to 80% of employers and recruitment agencies use social media content as part of their assessment of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0022185617723380">candidate suitability</a>. Being open online about health conditions, addiction issues or pregnancy can adversely affect an applicant’s chances of success when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/1556460.1556499">applying for jobs</a>, as can a profile which shows polarised views, non-mainstream lifestyle choices, or excessive partying.</p>
<p>Once in post, employees can face disciplinary action or dismissal for their conduct on social networking sites, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1773049">even when posting</a> outside of working hours. Unintentional leakage of sensitive information online -— such as trade secrets, intellectual property and personal details of other employees –- can be a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.08.013">security risk</a> for organisations, and lead to loss of competitive advantage, reputation and client trust.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>More articles:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-makes-good-business-sense-for-your-employer-to-look-after-your-mental-health-177503?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Why it makes good business sense for your employer to look after your mental health</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/goblin-mode-a-gothic-expert-explains-the-trends-mythical-origins-and-why-we-should-all-go-vampire-mode-instead-180282?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Goblin mode: a gothic expert explains the trend’s mythical origins, and why we should all go ‘vampire mode’ instead</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/national-insurance-rise-what-do-upcoming-tax-changes-mean-for-me-an-expert-explains-179023?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">National insurance rise: what do upcoming tax changes mean for me? An expert explains</a></em></p>
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<p>A vivid illustration of such security risks comes from footage posted by <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/submarine-officer-filmed-x-rated-videos-at-faslane-9ftqhm2b7">two Naval personnel</a> on the Only Fans pornography-sharing website of their intimate activities at a secure UK nuclear submarine base, resulting in disciplinary action.</p>
<p>Our team has been examining how employees’ digital footprints can harm them and their employers. Through extensive interviews with 26 people, we found that many struggle to recall and conceptualise the entirety of their digital footprints, or to imagine how others may string them together and draw unforeseen conclusions. </p>
<p>This matters for young adults entering the job market, who usually have extensive digital footprints across multiple platforms, and extending back many years. These footprints may reflect outdated versions of the person, and identities and opinions “tried on for size” as they mature and work out who they are.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a suit lifts his glasses and looks shocked while looking at a computer." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455808/original/file-20220401-21-r3jwum.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Don’t shock potential employers with outdated or inappropriate social media profiles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shocked-caucasian-middleaged-businessman-look-laptop-1751133512">fizkes / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Young people have told us of the peer pressure they face to comment on hot topics, such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo, without necessarily feeling that they want to express opinions publicly. Others have expressed regret at opinions gauchely expressed around politics, race and sexuality – opinions which seemed acceptable as a teenager yet don’t read well to adult eyes. The persistence of this online content can affect young adults in ways unfamiliar to their parents, whose murky pasts are likely consigned to photo albums under the bed.</p>
<h2>Digital decluttering</h2>
<p>Coherently cleaning up one’s digital footprints is a task that people tend to find overwhelming. They <a href="https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/publications/revealing-cumulative-risks-in-online-personal-information-a-data-">struggle to recall</a> what they have posted across multiple channels across many years, and avoid decluttering – reassuring themselves that they are boring and not worthy of others’ interest.</p>
<p>Some take broadbrush actions, such as deleting some or all of their social media accounts. Yet deletion is a luxury. Some of the young adults that we interviewed in our research felt compelled to be visible online via social media accounts while job-seeking – especially for white-collar jobs – so that potential employers could check them out.</p>
<p>Online visibility builds legitimacy. It presents an identity to the world – who we are, who we hang out with, our activities and opinions. Admittedly, that identity may be a sanitised version of the real person, carefully constructed with an online audience in mind, but so is a CV. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young man sits in front of a laptop computer with his hands covering his face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1380%2C327%2C6729%2C5833&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455806/original/file-20220401-30473-mkngiz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people struggle to remember the entirety of their digital footprint.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-african-man-using-laptop-home-2136153727">Krakenimages.com / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There can be ongoing tensions for job seekers between feeling they have to be visible online, and protecting their own safety. One of our interviewees, whose family had sought asylum in the UK, highlighted how asylum seekers could feel torn:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have met … people who were … running for their lives. Any information that they put online digitally would be instantly sought out, so they stayed off any kind of digital, social media … But then they’re also met with the contrast of needing to put something out in order to progress … to put yourself on show, or otherwise people don’t think you’re legitimate.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similarly, survivors of domestic abuse may want to keep a low profile to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1524838020957985">avoid being found</a> by their abusers.</p>
<p>Decluttering is a painful, yet necessary aspect of entering the world of work. Google yourself. Get a friend of a friend to look you up online and see what they find. If you can, remove the content that surfaces which shows you in a bad light. If you are featured in content posted by others, ask them to take it down. Untag yourself. If all else fails, detach yourself from online connections who have tagged you at your worst, so that the content is not associated with you. </p>
<p>If there’s too much content that may harm your employment prospects, tighten your privacy settings so that potential employers can’t see it. If membership of a specific social media site is linked to a past that you no longer align with –- such as an OnlyFans account -– untag yourself and delete your account for good measure.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179585/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Moncur receives funding from EPSRC (EP/R033889/2)</span></em></p>Growing up on the internet can bring consequences into adulthood.Wendy Moncur, Professor, Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1592152021-04-28T20:07:27Z2021-04-28T20:07:27ZWe spent six years scouring billions of links, and found the web is both expanding and shrinking<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397281/original/file-20210427-13-137287w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=162%2C52%2C3719%2C2531&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The online world is continuously expanding — always aggregating more services, more users and more activity. Last year, the number of websites registered on the “.com” domain <a href="https://www.verisign.com/en_US/channel-resources/domain-registry-products/zone-file/index.xhtml">surpassed 150,000,000</a>.</p>
<p>However, more than a quarter of a century since its first commercial use, the growth of the online world is now slowing down in some key categories. </p>
<p>We conducted a multi-year research project analysing global trends in online diversity and dominance. <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249993">Our research</a>, published today in Public Library of Science, is the first to reveal some long-term trends in how businesses compete in the age of the web. </p>
<p>We saw a dramatic consolidation of attention towards a shrinking (but increasingly dominant) group of online organisations. So, while there is still growth in the functions, features and applications offered on the web, the number of entities providing these functions is shrinking. </p>
<h2>Web diversity nosedives</h2>
<p>We analysed more than six billion user comments from the social media website Reddit dating back to 2006, as well as 11.8 billion Twitter posts from as far back as 2011. In total, our research used a massive 5.6Tb trove of data from more than a decade of global activity. </p>
<p>This dataset was more than four times the size of the original data from the Hubble Space Telescope, which helped Brian Schmidt and colleagues do their <a href="https://theconversation.com/nobel-prize-win-tells-us-the-universe-is-accelerating-what-does-that-mean-3753">Nobel-prize winning work</a> in 1998 to prove <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1086/300499/meta">the universe’s expansion is accelerating</a>.</p>
<p>With the Reddit posts, we analysed all the links to other sites and online services — more than one billion in total — to understand the dynamics of link growth, dominance and diversity through the decade. </p>
<p>We used a measure of link “uniqueness”. On this scale, 1 represents maximum diversity (all links have their own domain) and 0 is minimum diversity (all links are on one domain, such as “youtube.com”). </p>
<p>A decade ago, there was a much greater variety of domains within links posted by users of Reddit, with more than 20 different domains for every 100 random links users posted. Now there are only about five different domains for every 100 links posted. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Web diversity is nosediving." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=699&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=699&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395724/original/file-20210419-15-1mbwrt5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=699&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Our Reddit analysis showed the pool of top-performing sources online is shrinking.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, between 60—70% of all attention on key social media platforms is focused towards just ten popular domains.</p>
<p>Beyond social media platforms, we also studied linkage patterns across the web, looking at almost 20 billion links over three years. These results reinforced the “rich are getting richer” online. </p>
<p>The authority, influence and visibility of the top 1,000 global websites (as measured by network centrality or PageRank) is growing every month, at the expense of all other sites.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-internets-founder-now-wants-to-fix-the-web-but-his-proposal-misses-the-mark-127793">The internet's founder now wants to 'fix the web', but his proposal misses the mark</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>App diversity is on the rise</h2>
<p>The web started as a source of innovation, new ideas and inspiration — a technology that opened up the playing field. It’s now also becoming a medium that actually stifles competition and promotes monopolies and the dominance of a few players.</p>
<p>Our findings resolve a long-running paradox about the nature of the web: does it help grow businesses, jobs and investment? Or does it make it harder to get ahead by letting anyone and everyone join the game? The answer, it turns out, is it does both.</p>
<p>While the diversity of sources is in decline, there is a countervailing force of continually increasing functionality with new services, products and applications — such as music streaming services (Spotify), file sharing programs (Dropbox) and messaging platforms (Messenger, Whatsapp and Snapchat). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Functional diversity" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=405&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395731/original/file-20210419-21-dgxmnu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Functional diversity grows continuously online.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Website ‘infant mortality’</h2>
<p>Another major finding was the dramatic increase in the “infant mortality” rate of websites — with the big kids on the block guarding their turf more staunchly than ever.</p>
<p>We examined new domains that were continually referenced or linked-to in social media after their first appearance. We found that while almost 40% of the domains created 2006 were active five years on, only a little more than 3% of those created in 2015 remain active today.</p>
<p>The dynamics of online competition are becoming clearer and clearer. And the loss of diversity is concerning. Unlike the natural world, there are no sanctuaries; competition is part of both nature and business.</p>
<p>Our study has profound implications for business leaders, investors and governments everywhere. It shows the network effects of the web don’t just apply to online businesses. They have permeated the entire economy and are rewriting many previously accepted rules of economics. </p>
<p>For example, the idea that businesses can maintain a competitive advantage based on where they are physically located is increasingly tenuous. Meanwhile, there’s new opportunities for companies to set up shop from anywhere in the world and serve a global customer base that’s both mainstream and niche.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="TikTok users record a short video." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395749/original/file-20210419-17-1kphzsd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Innovative global products and services, such as TikTok, Klarna and SkyScanner, continue to emerge from a range of creators around the world.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The best way to encourage diversity is to have more global online businesses focused on providing diverse services, by addressing consumers’ increasingly niche needs. </p>
<p>In Australia, we’re starting to see this through homegrown companies such as <a href="https://www.canva.com/">Canva</a>, <a href="https://safetyculture.com/">SafetyCulture</a> and <a href="https://iwonder.com/">iWonder</a>. Hopefully many more will appear in the decade ahead.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-its-free-online-you-are-the-product-95182">If it’s free online, you are the product</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marian-Andrei Rizoiu receives funding from Facebook Research under the Content Policy Research Initiative grants and by the Commonwealth of Australia (represented by the Defence Science and Technology Group). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul X. McCarthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our research provides the first comprehensive picture of long-term trends in online diversity, drawing on a dataset that’s four times as large as the original Hubble Space Telescope data.Paul X. McCarthy, Adjunct Professor, UNSW SydneyMarian-Andrei Rizoiu, Lecturer in Computer Science, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1584172021-04-06T05:22:36Z2021-04-06T05:22:36ZFacebook data breach: what happened and why it’s hard to know if your data was leaked<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393503/original/file-20210406-23-j7rkr1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=86%2C13%2C887%2C639&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/UnderTheBreach/status/1349671417625931778">Alon Gal/Twitter</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the long weekend <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4?r=US&IR=T">reports</a> emerged of an alleged data breach, impacting half a billion Facebook users from 106 countries. </p>
<p>And while this figure is staggering, there’s more to the story than 533 million sets of data. This breach once again highlights how many of the systems we use aren’t designed to adequately protect our information from cyber criminals. </p>
<p>Nor is it always straightforward to figure out whether your data have been compromised in a breach or not.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1349671417625931778"}"></div></p>
<h2>What happened?</h2>
<p>More than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/05/facebook-data-leak-2021-breach-check-australia-users">500 million Facebook users’ details</a> were published online on an underground website used by cyber criminals.</p>
<p>It quickly became clear this was not a new data breach, but an older one which had come back to haunt Facebook and the millions of users whose data are now available to purchase online. </p>
<p>The data breach is believed to relate to a vulnerability which Facebook reportedly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4?">fixed in August of 2019</a>. While the exact source of the data can’t be verified, it was likely acquired through the misuse of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/04/tech/facebook-phone-numbers-exposed">legitimate functions in the Facebook systems</a>. </p>
<p>Such misuses can occur when a seemingly innocent feature of a website is used for an unexpected purpose by attackers, as was the case with a PayID attack in 2019.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=116&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=116&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=116&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/393502/original/file-20210406-23-1m3m37p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=146&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Chief technology officer of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock, Alon Gal, discovered the leaked database, posting screenshots on Twitter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Twitter</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/payid-data-breaches-show-australias-banks-need-to-be-more-vigilant-to-hacking-123529">PayID data breaches show Australia's banks need to be more vigilant to hacking</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the case of Facebook, criminals can mine Facebook’s systems for users’ personal information by using techniques which automate the process of harvesting data.</p>
<p>This may sound familiar. In 2018 Facebook was reeling from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/cambridge-analytica-files">Cambridge Analytica scandal</a>. This too was not a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-22/facebook-mark-zuckerberg-admits-mistakes-in-protecting-data/9574778"><em>hacking</em> incident</a>, but a misuse of a perfectly legitimate function of the Facebook platform. </p>
<p>While the data were initially obtained legitimately — as least, as far as Facebook’s rules were concerned — it was then passed on to a third party <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2018/03/suspending-cambridge-analytica/">without the appropriate consent</a> from users.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-talk-about-the-data-we-give-freely-of-ourselves-online-and-why-its-useful-93734">We need to talk about the data we give freely of ourselves online and why it's useful</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Were you targeted?</h2>
<p>There’s no easy way to determine if your details were breached in the recent leak. If the website concerned is acting in your best interest, you should at least receive a notification. But this <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/08/facebook-2019-breach-users">isn’t guaranteed</a>. </p>
<p>Even a tech-savvy user would be limited to hunting for the leaked data themselves on underground websites.</p>
<p>The data being sold online contain plenty of key information. <a href="https://haveibeenpwned.com/PwnedWebsites#Facebook">According to</a> haveibeenpwned.com, most of the records include names and genders, with many also including dates of birth, location, relationship status and employer.</p>
<p>Although, it has been <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/4/22366822/facebook-personal-data-533-million-leaks-online-email-phone-numbers">reported</a> only a small proportion of the stolen data contained a valid email address (about 2.5 million records).</p>
<p>This is important since a user’s data are less valuable without the corresponding email address. It’s the combination of date of birth, name, phone number and email which provides a useful starting point for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/apr/05/facebook-data-leak-2021-breach-check-australia-users">identity theft and exploitation</a>. </p>
<p>If you’re not sure why these details would be valuable to a criminal, think about how you confirm your identity over the phone with your bank, or how you last reset a password on a website.</p>
<p>Haveibeenpwned.com creator and web security expert Troy Hunt has said a secondary use for the data could be to enhance phishing and SMS-based spam attacks.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1378485540425670657"}"></div></p>
<h2>How to protect yourself</h2>
<p>Given the nature of the leak, there is very little Facebook users could have done proactively to protect themselves from this breach. As the attack targeted Facebook’s systems, the responsibility for securing the data lies entirely with Facebook.</p>
<p>On an individual level, while you can opt to withdraw from the platform, for many this isn’t a simple option. That said, there are certain changes you can make to your social media behaviours to help reduce your risk from data breaches.</p>
<p>1) <strong>Ask yourself if you need to share all your <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/mar/07/is-there-a-way-to-use-facebook-without-giving-up-my-privacy">information with Facebook</a></strong></p>
<p>There are some bits of information we inevitably have to forfeit in exchange for using Facebook, including mobile numbers for new accounts (as a security measure, ironically). But there are plenty of <a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-be-phish-food-tips-to-avoid-sharing-your-personal-information-online-138613">details you can withhold</a> to retain a modicum of control over your data.</p>
<p>2) <strong>Think about what you share</strong> </p>
<p>Apart from the leak being reported, there are plenty of other ways to harvest user data from Facebook. If you use a fake birth date on your account, you should also avoid posting birthday party photos on the real day. Even our <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/why-you-shouldn-t-post-a-picture-of-your-boarding-pass-on-social-media-20200918-p55wvf.html">seemingly innocent photos</a> can reveal sensitive information.</p>
<p>3) <strong>Avoid using Facebook to sign in to other websites</strong></p>
<p>Although the “sign-in with Facebook” feature is potentially time-saving (and reduces the number of accounts you have to maintain), it also increases <a href="https://threatpost.com/sneaky-phishing-scam-facebook/141869/">potential risk</a> to you — especially if the site you’re signing into isn’t a trusted one. If your Facebook account is compromised, the attacker will have automatic access to all the linked websites.</p>
<p>4) <strong>Use unique passwords</strong></p>
<p>Always use a different password for each online account, even if it is a pain. Installing a password manager will help with this (and this is how I have more than 400 different passwords). While it won’t stop your data from ever being stolen, if your password for a site is leaked it will only work for that <em>one</em> site.</p>
<p>If you really want a scare, you can always download a copy of all the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/212802592074644">data Facebook has on you</a>. This is useful if you’re considering leaving the platform and want a copy of your data before closing your account.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-half-of-australians-have-ditched-social-media-at-some-point-but-millennials-lag-behind-156128">New evidence shows half of Australians have ditched social media at some point, but millennials lag behind</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158417/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Haskell-Dowland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than 500 million people’s details were compromised. The records include various combinations of name, email, gender, date of birth, location, relationship status and employer.Paul Haskell-Dowland, Associate Dean (Computing and Security), Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1541302021-02-05T13:12:29Z2021-02-05T13:12:29ZTim Berners-Lee’s plan to save the internet: give us back control of our data<p>Releasing his creation for free 30 years ago, the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, famously declared: “this is for everyone”. Today, his invention is used by billions – but it also hosts the <a href="https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net">authoritarian crackdowns</a> of antidemocratic governments, and supports the infrastructure of the most wealthy and powerful companies on Earth.</p>
<p>Now, in an effort to return the internet to the golden age that existed before its current incarnation as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0267323108098947">Web 2.0</a> – characterised by invasive data harvesting by governments and corporations – Berners-Lee has devised a plan to save his invention. </p>
<p>This involves his brand of “data sovereignty” – which means giving users power over their data – and it means wrestling back control of the personal information we surrendered to big tech many years ago.</p>
<p>Berners-Lee’s latest intervention comes as increasing numbers of people regard the online world as a landscape dominated by a few tech giants, thriving on a system of “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/oct/04/shoshana-zuboff-surveillance-capitalism-assault-human-automomy-digital-privacy">surveillance capitalism</a>” – which sees our personal data extracted and harvested by online giants before being used to target advertisements at us as we browse the web. </p>
<p>Courts in the US and the EU have filed cases against big tech as part of what’s been dubbed the “<a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2018/01/20/the-techlash-against-amazon-facebook-and-google-and-what-they-can-do">techlash</a>” against their growing power. But Berners-Lee’s answer to big tech’s overreach is far simpler: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/10/technology/tim-berners-lee-privacy-internet.html">to give individuals the power to control their own data</a>.</p>
<h2>Net gains</h2>
<p>The idea of data sovereignty has its roots in <a href="https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/series/caepr/indigenous-data-sovereignty">the claims of the world’s indigenous people</a>, who have leveraged the concept to protect the intellectual property of their cultural heritage. </p>
<p>Applied to all web users, data sovereignty means giving individuals complete authority over their personal data. This includes the self-determination of which elements of our <a href="https://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/tod-29-good-data/">personal data</a> we permit to be collected, and how we allow it to be analysed, stored, owned and used.</p>
<p>This would be in stark contrast to the current data practices that underpin big tech’s business models. The practice of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053951718820549">data extraction</a>”, for instance, refers to personal information that is taken from people surfing the web without their meaningful consent or fair compensation. This depends on a model in which your data is not regarded as being your property.</p>
<p>Scholars argue that data extraction, combined with “network effects”, has led to <a href="https://www.ippr.org/juncture-item/the-challenges-of-platform-capitalism">teach monopolies</a>. Network effects are seen when a platform becomes dominant, encouraging even more users join and use it. This allows the dominant platform more possibilities to extract data, which they use to produce better services. In turn, these better services attract even more users. This tends to amplify the power (and database size) of dominant firms at the expense of smaller ones.</p>
<p>This monopolisation tendency explains why the data extraction and ownership landscape is dominated by the so-called <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/4213/google-apple-facebook-amazon-and-microsoft-gafam/">GAFAM</a> – Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft – in the US and the so-called <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/23502/market-shares-baidu-alibaba-tencent/">BAT</a> – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent – in China. In addition to companies, governments also have monopoly power over their citizens’ data.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A smartphone screen showing the five 'GAFAM' branded apps" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382498/original/file-20210204-14-fufs5q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The world’s largest tech companies are increasingly regarded as monopolistic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kumamoto-japan-may-29-2020-gafam-1783291358">Koshiro K/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>“<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053951720982012">Data sovereignty</a>” has been proposed as a promising means of reversing this monopolising tendency. It’s an idea that’s been kicked about on the fringes of internet debates for some time, but its backing by Tim Berners-Lee will mean it garners much greater attention.</p>
<h2>Building data vaults</h2>
<p>Berners-Lee isn’t just backing data sovereignty: he’s building the tech to support it. He recently set up <a href="https://inrupt.com/">Inrupt</a>, a company with the express goal of moving towards the kind of world wide web that its inventor had originally envisioned. Inrupt plans to do that through a new system called “pods” – personal online data stores.</p>
<p>Pods work like personal data safes. By storing their data in a pod, individuals retain ownership and control of their own data, rather than transferring this to digital platforms. Under this system, companies can request access to an individual’s pod, offering certain services in return – but they cannot extract or sell that data onwards.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/web-3-0-the-decentralised-web-promises-to-make-the-internet-free-again-113139">Web 3.0: the decentralised web promises to make the internet free again</a>
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<p>Inrupt has built these pods as part of its <a href="https://inrupt.com/solid">Solid</a> project, which has followed the form of a Silicon Valley startup – though with the express objective of making pods accessible for all. All websites or apps a user with a pod visits will require authentication by Solid before being allowed to request an individual’s personal data. If pods are like safes, Solid acts like the bank in which the safe is stored.</p>
<p>One of the criticisms of the idea of pods is that it approaches data as a commodity. The concept of “<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/30/data-markets-the-emerging-data-economy/">data markets</a>” has been mooted, for instance, as a system that enables companies to make micro-payments in exchange for our data. The fundamental flaw of such a system is that data is of little value when it is bought and sold on its own: the value of data only emerges from its aggregation and analysis, accrued via network effects.</p>
<h2>Common good</h2>
<p>An alternative to the commodification of data could lie in categorising data as “commons”. The idea of the commons was first popularised by the work of Nobel Prize-winning political economist Elinor Ostrom. </p>
<p>A commons approach to data would regard it as owned not by individuals or by companies, but as something that’s owned by society. <a href="https://decodeproject.eu/blog/towards-data-commons">Data as commons</a> is an emerging idea which could unlock the value of data as a public good, keeping ownership in the hands of the community. </p>
<p>Tim Berners-Lee’s intervention in debates about the destiny of the internet is a welcome development. Governments and communities are coming to realise that big tech’s data-driven digital dominance is unhealthy for society. Pods represent one answer among many to the question of how we should respond.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154130/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pieter Verdegem does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The web’s inventor believes the liberation of our data will help redistribute power on the internet.Pieter Verdegem, Senior Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, University of WestminsterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1513192021-01-14T14:30:05Z2021-01-14T14:30:05ZNigeria’s State Houses of Assembly need a greater online presence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/378270/original/file-20210112-23-1j6rho0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">State assemblies in Nigeria must devote more resources to digital communication </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/policemen-keeps-watch-at-the-bayelsa-house-of-assembly-in-news-photo/56290017">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nigerians are now more active online than ever. Data from the <a href="https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview#view-graphs-tables-5">National Communications Commission</a> and <a href="https://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm#ng">independent bodies</a> suggest that the majority of citizens use the internet, social media and smartphones for everyday activity. </p>
<p>Many of these people engage in political conversations. This is why government institutions should use online platforms to engage with the public. The legislature, as the voice of the people, is expected to connect with the people – and <a href="https://content.iospress.com/articles/information-polity/ip000316">online technologies</a> make this easier, cheaper and faster. </p>
<p>But do assemblies maintain an active online presence, in line with governance trends in the information era? We took on this important question in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13572334.2020.1818928">our research</a> by focusing on the 36 subnational legislatures in Nigeria. These are called State Houses of Assembly. </p>
<p>These assemblies should be closer to the people, but <a href="http://afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis/analyse-online">data</a> show that they are disconnected and the public doesn’t fully trust them. This is all the more reason they should be using digital platforms to inform and listen to citizens. </p>
<p>We analysed the parliamentary websites as well as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts of the assemblies from June 2019 to March 2020. We also interacted with relevant officials and used <a href="https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary">data</a> from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, capturing revenue, internet penetration and literacy rates.</p>
<h2>Assemblies and online presence</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2018-11/world-e-parliament-report-2018">Evidence</a> from the Inter-Parliamentary Union,
an international organisation of parliaments, shows that national legislatures increasingly use websites, social media and related digital tools to perform their functions. They also share information and communicate with the public. </p>
<p>We found this didn’t happen in Nigeria.</p>
<p>At least half of Nigeria’s 36 state assemblies had websites and Twitter accounts. Over three quarters had Facebook accounts, but only a handful had Instagram and YouTube accounts. </p>
<p>Online presence was skewed towards geopolitical zones with an economic advantage. South-west and South-south (six states apiece) had four assemblies with websites. Three states each in the North-east and North-central (of six states each) had websites. The South-east (five states) and North-west zones (seven states) had only two each with websites. </p>
<p>Lagos State Assembly appeared to be the only one with a relatively active presence on both <a href="https://www.lagoshouseofassembly.gov.ng">website</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/lshaofficial">social media</a>. This underscores the state’s elite status in terms of resources, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20421338.2020.1748335">proportion of internet users and literacy rates</a>. </p>
<p>Another factor that influenced online presence was the relationship between legislative bureaucrats and political aides. The presence was much better if the parliamentary leadership, as represented by presiding speakers, made it a priority. </p>
<p>As staff of information technology departments, bureaucrats have a duty to operate the institutional online accounts. But political aides, as appointees of elected members, especially presiding speakers, handle the individual accounts of their principals. Where they didn’t work together, lapses in the online presence of the legislature were evident. </p>
<p>Similarly, in two instances, respondents confirmed that they had lost their websites because the presiding speakers were not convinced of the need to sustain them. </p>
<p>We also observed that the websites projected the image of leaders and individual members more than the institution. The websites carried biographical descriptions of legislators. But they had nothing about members’ salaries and allowances and procedure for their recall.</p>
<p>There were significant shortcomings in the use of social media platforms for engagement. For instance, we tested for three levels of use: (i) to inform the public about the legislative institution, (ii) to inform about its activities and (iii) to promote conversations and relationships with the people. Only about 10% used Twitter for the third – the most important dimension of engagement. Facebook and Instagram were used mostly at the first levels, and, in few cases, the second. Whereas having Facebook accounts was very prominent, only about one-third of the assemblies frequently updated the accounts and activated tools that allow interaction with the public. </p>
<p>What is clear is that despite the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461355718763448">increasing popularity</a> of social media among citizens, assemblies don’t offer what citizens need: political information and the opportunity for two-way communication. </p>
<p>Similar to the ways in which they mostly use their websites, social media platforms are mostly used to disseminate information, rather than to promote two-way communication with the public. This detracts from the benefits that social media, especially, can bring to connections between public institutions and citizens. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>The assemblies must realise that the online space is the new campaign ground for public support. Whether they practise digital engagement or not, the public will continue to shape opinions about them, rightly or wrongly. It is only fair, then, that the assemblies add their voices to these online conversations. </p>
<p>They can do this by devoting more resources to digital communication and promoting overarching public engagement strategies. </p>
<p>There must also be regular training for digital managers of the legislative institutions and greater political will by the leadership. This will promote ongoing dialogue with Nigerians. </p>
<p>It may also help in reversing the level of public distrust of legislative institutions in Nigeria.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151319/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi receives funding for doctoral studies from Nigeria's Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) through the Obafemi Awolowo University. He is also affiliated with the University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom, where is a doctoral researcher. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Omomayowa Olawale Abati receives funding from the National Research Foundation of the Republic of South Africa through Stellenbosch University where he undertake his doctoral research. He is also affiliated to Kings University, Odeomu, Nigeria where he teaches Political Science. </span></em></p>While internet penetration is increasing in Nigeria, State Houses of Assembly have little or no online presence, this ought to change.Temitayo Isaac Odeyemi, Lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityOmomayowa Olawale Abati, Lecturer, Kings UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1461002020-09-30T02:54:25Z2020-09-30T02:54:25ZInternet sabbaths and surveillance capitalism in the COVID-19 era: William Powers on what’s changed since Hamlet’s Blackberry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360499/original/file-20200929-18-1i4j7dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>COVID-19 has affected our relationship with technology in many ways, from the pleasures of mass online choirs to the perils of the endless Zoom meetings rendering us “zoombies”.</p>
<p>Connectivity is so hard-wired in our lives, many are re-assessing the virtues of being disconnected. </p>
<p>Ten years ago, US journalist <a href="https://www.williampowers.com/about-me/">William Powers</a> published <a href="https://www.williampowers.com/hamlets-blackberry/">Hamlet’s BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age</a>, a book that urged us to take an “internet sabbath” every now and again.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="US author William Powers." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=785&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=986&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=986&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360676/original/file-20200930-20-6g3717.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=986&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">US author William Powers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.williampowers.com/about-me/">https://www.williampowers.com/</a></span>
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<p>It was a prescient idea even if the book’s title sounds rather retro now, but there was a reason for his choice, as he explains today on <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/podcasts/mediafiles">Media Files</a>. </p>
<p>Powers is a journalist who used to work at The Washington Post and is now an online technology consultant, and he joined me by Zoom from his home in Cape Cod in Massachusetts. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/suck-it-and-see-or-face-a-digital-tax-former-accc-boss-allan-fels-warns-google-and-facebook-145041">'Suck it and see’ or face a digital tax, former ACCC boss Allan Fels warns Google and Facebook</a>
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<h2>Additional credits</h2>
<p>Theme music: Susie Wilkins.</p>
<p>With thanks to Chris Scanlon from Deakin University for production assistance.</p>
<h2>Image</h2>
<p>Shutterstock</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Ricketson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Journalist and author William Powers talks with Media Files about taking an internet sabbath, how the media covers tech and what's changed since his book Hamlet’s Blackberry was first published.Matthew Ricketson, Professor of Communication, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1386132020-05-28T03:29:24Z2020-05-28T03:29:24ZDon’t be phish food! Tips to avoid sharing your personal information online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337870/original/file-20200527-141320-1a7ikl1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C14%2C4947%2C3308&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/anonymous-mask-hide-identity-on-computer-518835055">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Data is the <a href="https://www.wired.com/insights/2014/07/data-new-oil-digital-economy/">new oil</a>, and online platforms will siphon it off at any opportunity. Platforms increasingly demand our personal information in exchange for a service. </p>
<p>Avoiding online services altogether can limit your participation in society, so the advice to just opt out is easier said than done. </p>
<p>Here are some tricks you can use to avoid giving online platforms your personal information. Some ways to <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/get-help/protect-yourself-from-scams">limit your exposure</a> include using “alternative facts”, using guest check-out options, and a burner email.</p>
<h2>Alternative facts</h2>
<p>While “alternative facts” is a term coined by <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-00813-0_4">White House press staff</a> to describe factual inaccuracies, in this context it refers to false details supplied in place of your personal information.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hackers-are-now-targeting-councils-and-governments-threatening-to-leak-citizen-data-126190">Hackers are now targeting councils and governments, threatening to leak citizen data</a>
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<p>This is an effective strategy to avoid giving out information online. Though platforms might insist you complete a user profile, they can do little to check if that information is correct. For example, they can check whether a phone number contains the correct amount of digits, or if an email address has a valid format, but that’s about it.</p>
<p>When a website requests your date of birth, address, or name, consider how this information will be used and whether you’re prepared to hand it over. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1147173290181627904"}"></div></p>
<p>There’s a distinction to be made between which platforms <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/04/why-we-need-online-alter-egos-now-more-than-ever/">do or don’t warrant</a> using your real information. If it’s an <a href="https://www.avg.com/en/signal/website-safety">official</a> banking or educational institute website, then it’s important to be truthful.</p>
<p>But an online shopping, gaming, or movie review site shouldn’t require the same level of disclosure, and using an alternative identity could protect you.</p>
<h2>Secret shopper</h2>
<p>Online stores and services often encourage users to set up a profile, offering convenience in exchange for information. Stores value your profile data, as it can provide them additional revenue through targeted advertising and emails. </p>
<p>But many websites also offer a guest checkout option to streamline the purchase process. After all, one thing as valuable as your data is your money. </p>
<p>So unless you’re making very frequent purchases from a site, use guest checkout and skip profile creation altogether. Even without disclosing extra details, you can still track your delivery, as tracking is provided by transport companies (and not the store). </p>
<p>Also consider your payment options. Many credit cards and payment merchants such as PayPal provide additional <a href="https://www.paypal.com/au/smarthelp/article/what-is-paypal-buyer-protection-faq1269">buyer protection</a>, adding another layer of separation between you and the website. </p>
<p>Avoid sharing your bank account details online, and instead use an intermediary such as PayPal, or a credit card, to provide additional protection. </p>
<p>If you use a credit card (even prepaid), then even if your details are compromised, any potential losses are limited to the card balance. Also, with credit cards this balance is effectively the bank’s funds, meaning you won’t be charged out of pocket for any fraudulent transactions.</p>
<h2>Burner emails</h2>
<p>An email address is usually the first item a site requests. </p>
<p>They also often require email verification when a profile is created, and that verification email is probably the only one you’ll ever want to receive from the site. So rather than handing over your main email address, consider a burner email.</p>
<p>This is a fully functional but disposable email address that remains active for about 10 minutes. You can get one for free from online services including <a href="https://maildrop.cc/">Maildrop</a>, <a href="https://www.guerrillamail.com/">Guerilla Mail</a> and <a href="https://10minutemail.com/">10 Minute Mail</a>.</p>
<p>Just make sure you don’t forget your password, as you won’t be able to recover it once your burner email becomes inactive.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/337853/original/file-20200527-141287-1igcflj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The 10 Minute Mail website offers free burner emails.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://10minutemail.com/">screenshot</a></span>
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<h2>The risk of being honest</h2>
<p>Every online profile containing your personal information is another potential target for attackers. The more profiles you make, the greater the chance of your details being breached.</p>
<p>A breach in one place can lead to others. Names and emails alone are sufficient for email <a href="https://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/protect-yourself/recover-when-things-go-wrong/phishing">phishing attacks</a>. And a phish becomes more convincing (and more likely to succeed) when paired with other details such as your recent purchasing history. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/google-survey-finds-two-users/">Surveys indicate</a> about <a href="https://blog.avast.com/strengthening-passwords-on-world-password-day">half of us</a> recycle passwords across multiple sites. While this is convenient, it means if a breach at one site reveals your password, then attackers can hack into your other accounts.</p>
<p>In fact, even just an email address is a valuable piece of intelligence, as emails are used as a login for many sites, and a login (unlike a password) can sometimes be impossible to change. </p>
<p>Obtaining your email could open the door for targeted attacks on your other accounts, such as social media accounts.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ugly-truth-tech-companies-are-tracking-and-misusing-our-data-and-theres-little-we-can-do-127444">The ugly truth: tech companies are tracking and misusing our data, and there's little we can do</a>
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<p>In “password spraying” <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/security/blog/2020/04/23/protecting-organization-password-spray-attacks/">attacks</a>“, cybercriminals test common passwords against many emails/usernames in hopes of landing a correct combination.</p>
<p>The bottom line is, the safest information is the information you never release. And practising alternatives to disclosing your true details could go a long way to limiting your data being used against you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nik Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While some online services such as banking do warrant using your true information, many sites shouldn’t require the same level of disclosure. Here’s how to protect yourself in such cases.Nik Thompson, Senior Lecturer, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1339052020-03-18T03:05:20Z2020-03-18T03:05:20ZCoronavirus: telcos are picking up where the NBN is failing. Here’s what it means for you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/321204/original/file-20200318-37392-1yb6ry3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=105%2C81%2C5320%2C3538&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>Telecommunication providers are taking positive steps to meet consumers’ demands in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the National Broadband Network (NBN Co) is being urged to reduce its wholesale broadband charges for these providers. </p>
<p>Companies such as Telstra and Optus offer broadband plans over the NBN, purchasing broadband data from the NBN at wholesale prices, which they then distribute to customers. In this time of crisis, the NBN should slash its wholesale prices. This will enable providers to purchase the extra data needed to meet demand as the country adopts widespread social-distancing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nbn-urged-to-intervene-as-pandemic-tests-broadband-connections-20200316-p54ain.html">Several</a> <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/unprecedented-demand-for-nbn/news-story/753610eb604595b878cd8880739d4618">media</a> <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/nbn-braces-for-increased-load-as-covid-19-keeps-people-at-home/12062128">outlets</a> have covered how data usage over the NBN is expected to boom as more people self-isolate, and start working and studying from home. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, at a time when Australians are depending on the NBN for high speeds and reliable connections for telework and remote education, many people may be let down. </p>
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<h2>Expect strain</h2>
<p>Communications representatives from <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-telco-industry-roundtable-on-covid-19">both</a> <a href="https://www.michellerowland.com.au/news/media-releases-communications/media-release-temporary-capacity-relief-for-telcos-should-be-considered-if-nbn-becomes-congested-16-march-2020/">sides</a> of government have acknowledged the virus’s spread will lead to hordes of people becoming reliant on the web for work and study. </p>
<p>This will lead to increased online traffic, slower internet speeds and higher wholesale costs for providers serviced by the NBN, limiting the amount of extra data these providers can purchase.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/working-at-home-to-avoid-coronavirus-this-tech-lets-you-almost-replicate-the-office-133350">Working at home to avoid coronavirus? This tech lets you (almost) replicate the office</a>
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<p>On Monday the <a href="https://www.paulfletcher.com.au/media-releases/media-release-telco-industry-roundtable-on-covid-19">federal government</a> reported the NBN had experienced a “modest increase of around 6% throughout the day and at peak times” in comparison to figures predating COVID-19’s spread.</p>
<p>Looking forward, the network expects busy-hour traffic, typically between 6pm and 9pm, to <a href="https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/fletcher/media-release/telco-industry-roundtable-covid-19">increase by up to 40%</a>, in line with other countries’ experiences. In Italy, data shared with NBN by <a href="https://www.telecomitalia.com/tit/it.html">Telecom Italia</a> showed Italy’s busy-hour traffic had increased by about 26%.</p>
<h2>A second-rate system</h2>
<p>In Australia, the Coalition government’s 2013 decision to move to a copper-based multi-technology-mix NBN, instead of Labor’s all-fibre network with fibre to the premises (FTTP), has seen Australia fall down the global broadband rankings. Fibre to the premises is when fibre-optic lines run from the nearest available node directly to a premises.</p>
<p>Currently, low-quality streaming over the NBN occurs for two reasons. Firstly, because of the NBN’s high data charges for service providers, and also because of the second-rate multi-technology-mix infrastructure. And this will only worsen as more people adhere to social-distancing and isolation measures.</p>
<p>Entertainment and sport are often streamed over the NBN at a resolution of 576p rather than the high-definition 1080p or 4K. Frustrated viewers are left watching media at a quality similar to old analogue television, due to the NBN’s use of obsolete, slow and unreliable technology since 2014, under the Coalition government.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-could-spark-a-revolution-in-working-from-home-are-we-ready-133070">Coronavirus could spark a revolution in working from home. Are we ready?</a>
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<p>Media streaming companies including <a href="https://www.foxtel.com.au/whats-on/foxtel-insider/foxtel/iq4k/satellite-vs-internet.html">Foxtel</a> have also complained their poor streaming quality is a result of this.</p>
<p>With COVID-19 causing mass disruptions, Comcast-owned media and entertainment company NBCUniversal recently <a href="https://corporate.comcast.com/press/releases/comcast-nbcuniversal-moves-to-make-current-movies-available-in-the-home">announced</a> it will end the practice of delaying online film releases to streaming companies like Netflix for several months after the film’s cinema release. </p>
<p>NBCUniversal said, in reference to social distancing and smaller audiences expected at cinemas: “Current circumstances have made it more challenging to view our films.”</p>
<p>Unfortunately for Australians, even if we can get new movies over the NBN the same day they’re released, we could be stuck with poor quality and congestion during peak times. </p>
<h2>Our neighbours set an example</h2>
<p>In New Zealand, an FTTP rollout has been progressing since 2012. Connections to Chorus <a href="https://www.chorus.co.nz/">UFB broadband</a> (New Zealand’s NBN equivalent) cost a flat monthly fee for service providers, don’t incur a data usage charge and have no data usage limits. </p>
<p>This has allowed companies to quickly respond to the pandemic, and they have begun offering extra content free of charge. For instance, <a href="http://itwire.com/entertainment/nz-s-spark-sport-channel-offers-free-viewing-until-may.html">Spark Sport</a> is providing its six sports channels and on-demand offerings at no charge for existing and new customers until May.</p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/media-centre/media-statements/increase-in-residential-data-demand">statement</a>, NBN Co chief executive Stephen Rue said the company was working with retailers to “do everything possible to optimise the NBN to support the expected increase in residential use”.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, when asked if there would be cost subsidies for retailers or consumers, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/nbn-braces-for-increased-load-as-covid-19-keeps-people-at-home/12062128">Rue told the ABC</a> the NBN was working with retailers, to ensure they would be provided with “the capacity they need”.</p>
<p>The NBN published a guide on <a href="http://www.nbn.com.au/workingfromhome">working from home</a> during the pandemic. It highlights the need for broadband consumers to purchase an NBN plan that offers the right speed necessary for their internet activities. </p>
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<h2>NBN, now’s the time to show-up for Australians</h2>
<p>While the NBN is set to benefit from the extra data usage during the pandemic, Telstra and Optus have taken a <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/technology/telstra-optus-offer-free-internet-access-during-coronavirus-pandemic-calls-for-nbn-to-follow/news-story/06d4540a20b35a9ba358807dfa29c14e">positive step</a> by offering customers additional broadband data and internet access, free of charge.</p>
<p>During April, <a href="https://www.optus.com.au/for-you/support/answer?id=20065">Optus will provide an additional 20GB for postpaid mobile customers and 10GB for prepaid</a> customers. <a href="https://exchange.telstra.com.au/supporting-our-customers-during-covid-19/">Telstra has gone one step further to provide an extra 25GB for postpaid mobile customers</a>, if they apply for it through <a href="https://www.telstra.com.au/my-account/telstra-24x7-app">the Telstra 24x7 app</a>. </p>
<p>Moreover, Telstra home broadband users will have unlimited data from this Thursday until April 30. Telstra will be paying NBN a potentially huge amount for this extra data deployment. </p>
<p>For the sake of the public, the NBN should reduce its wholesale data charges during this pandemic. It could look to move to a flat monthly access fee with no data usage charges, similar to the approach taken in New Zealand.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/telecommuting-could-curb-the-coronavirus-epidemic-133308">Telecommuting could curb the coronavirus epidemic</a>
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<p>The good news is the NBN will probably eventually heed calls to action and lower these charges. </p>
<p>The network is already a lemon, and it’s unlikely the NBN Co board will risk the public backlash it will receive if it’s seen trying to shore up its weak bottom line at a time of national crisis.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/133905/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark A Gregory does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Telstra and Optus have already made arrangements to support customers with extra, free data during the COVID-19 pandemic. But what is the NBN doing?Mark A Gregory, Associate professor, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1281172019-12-03T02:37:16Z2019-12-03T02:37:16ZThe government is hyping digitalised services, but not addressing a history of e-government fails<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304831/original/file-20191202-67002-106wryj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4500%2C3132&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">E-government involves using the internet to streamline interaction between government agencies and the public.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SHUTTERSTOCK</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In politics, when you have little to show for your achievements, you can release a “roadmap” for what will supposedly be achieved in the future. </p>
<p>You can look on the bright side. Use phrases such as “<a href="https://twitter.com/stuartrobertmp/status/1200230615171256320">ontology of capabilities</a>”, and disregard a number of crashes, traffic jams, protests and policy detours.</p>
<p>This is what we’re seeing with the national government’s <a href="https://www.dta.gov.au/news/digital-transformation-strategy-update-year-1">Digital Transformation Strategy Update</a> and subsequent planned <a href="https://www.dta.gov.au/dts-roadmap">two-year rolling roadmap</a>, announced last week by Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert.</p>
<p>When the strategy was launched last year, it was <a href="https://ministers.pmc.gov.au/keenan/2018/our-bold-vision-australias-digital-future">described</a> as offering a “clear direction” for the government’s digital efforts over the next seven years. It would ensure Australia’s place as one of the “top three digital governments” by 2025.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-australia-can-learn-about-e-government-from-estonia-35091">What Australia can learn about e-government from Estonia</a>
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<p>It purportedly offers a “complete view of digital activities” occurring across national government agencies, in the form of a roadmap spanning the next two years.</p>
<p>But if you’re someone who interacts with government, it’s worth asking questions about the basis of the strategy, and how Canberra communicates the often bumpy road to <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2803233">e-government</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/introducing-integrated-e-government-australia">E-government</a> is a mantra, both a process and goal. In essence, it involves using digital technologies, notably the internet, to streamline interactions between government agencies and the public. Examples include payment of licences and taxes, business registration and allowance claims. </p>
<p>And taking that activity online should force bureaucracies to take a hard look at how they operate.</p>
<h2>Problems on the transformation highway</h2>
<p>Overall, there are benefits for national productivity and the taxpayer in taking government online. Most of us love the convenience of getting rid of paper and queues. </p>
<p>However, we should ask whether government as a whole needs to lift its game in how it deals with the public when transforming, and how it develops its priorities. Those priorities need to be more than “we can do it”, plus media opportunity. </p>
<p>If we look at what’s happening on the transformation highway, we might be sceptical about the value of the minister’s roadmap.</p>
<p>The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), the latest iteration of government re-engineering agencies since the Paul Keating era, was championed by Malcolm Turnbull. </p>
<p>Without prime ministerial support, it has consistently underperformed in bureaucratic infighting. The Australian Taxation Office, and departments of human services, home affairs and defence have gone their own way. </p>
<p>It has also been affected by <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/dta-staff-churn-jumps-to-highest-level-since-restructure-534453">churn</a> among senior staff, including several <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/94731-governments-digital-boss-gavin-slater-moves-on/">chief executives</a>. </p>
<p>Former DTA executive Paul Shetler damned the strategy as lacking substance. That is a valid criticism of the document and associated “roadmap” report, which presents isolated projects across government as proof of a coherent strategy that is being delivered effectively.</p>
<p>In practice, digital initiatives originate and are implemented at department level. This reflects the authority and ambitions of individual ministers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-a-digital-first-government-would-look-like-48005">What a 'digital first' government would look like</a>
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<p>It also reflects the imperatives of their departments and own agencies, administering statutory powers surrounding responsibilities such as migration, taxation and education. </p>
<p>The strategy thus resembles the traditional agreement to agree (rather than a coherent central direction), where different ministers and departments will continue their individual plans, while merely paying lip service to a whole-of-government approach.</p>
<p>It’s not something for which Robert can take much credit. And it doesn’t acknowledge concerns about underperformance.</p>
<h2>A challenging road</h2>
<p>E-government has been a mantra in all advanced economies for the past 20 years. Australia has discovered the road to e-government is more challenging than the maps provided by consulting or ministerial media advisors.</p>
<p>The expectation is that digital transformation will radically improve services to everyone who interacts with government. Ideally, it will reduce costs, increase consistency of services, and provide rich pools of data to enable smarter policy development. </p>
<p>It will get rid of paper, use large-scale data matching to detect criminal activity, and strengthen Australia’s artificial intelligence industry.</p>
<p>The vision is founded on a innovative whole-of-government approach. In practice, it is a document with little strategy. It essentially bundles initiatives “owned” by different ministers and put into action by separate departments in fierce competition for funds. </p>
<p>We need to look beyond a roadmap in which the government (and minister) claims credit for initiatives that are episodic, rather than strategic. Government doing what it’s meant to do, working smarter for us, is not a cause for celebration.</p>
<h2>Transformation for whom?</h2>
<p>“Transformation” <em>has</em> produced some clear winners, independent of the strategy. </p>
<p>Commercial service providers have done well out of each department’s programs. Transformation has been great for the likes of SAP, ORACLE, KPMG and Amazon Web Services: large multi-year contracts for system design, maintenance and connectivity.</p>
<p>Has it been great for you and me in terms of value for money, respect and good governance? </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/digitising-social-services-could-further-exclude-people-already-on-the-margins-103201">Digitising social services could further exclude people already on the margins</a>
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<p>In looking at the roadmap, remember <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-19/abs-annual-report-censusfail/9064970">CensusFail</a> and billion-dollar <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/25/my-health-record-failed-to-manage-cybersecurity-and-privacy-risks-audit-finds">e-health project</a>, which faced consumer <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-11-14/my-health-record-opt-out-deadline-amendments-privacy-security/10481806">backlash</a>.</p>
<p>What about the misery-causing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/nov/28/robodebt-the-federal-court-ruling-and-what-it-means-for-targeted-welfare-recipients">RoboDebt</a> initiative damned by the Federal Court last week?</p>
<p>The national auditor recurrently criticises inadequate e-government planning such as a biometric scheme <a href="https://www.itnews.com.au/news/auditor-lashes-junked-national-biometrics-project-after-significant-failures-518213">damned</a> as “deficient in almost every significant respect”. </p>
<p>Benefits for citizens through interagency data sharing do not include greater government accountability. That’s unsurprising, given the government’s <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/121139-home-affairs-has-more-important-things-to-do-than-comply-with-the-foi-act-michael-pezzullo/">hostility</a> to <a href="https://www.themandarin.com.au/117590-most-foi-officers-believe-in-transparency-but-their-bosses-dont-have-their-backs-study/">freedom of information requests</a>. </p>
<p>The e-government vision requires learning from mistakes. Sadly, that’s ignored by the strategy.</p>
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<p><em>Correction: we have updated this article with Paul Shetler’s correct name.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Baer Arnold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Minister for Government Services has announced a two-year roadmap to supposedly propel e-government. But the plans, part of a larger strategy, are considerably lacking substance.Bruce Baer Arnold, Assistant Professor, School of Law, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1274442019-11-26T04:33:36Z2019-11-26T04:33:36ZThe ugly truth: tech companies are tracking and misusing our data, and there’s little we can do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/303641/original/file-20191126-84268-9nsdjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=66%2C5%2C3627%2C3074&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">While leaks and whistleblowers continue to be valuable tools in the fight for data privacy, we can't rely on them solely to keep big tech companies in check.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/computer-keyboard-multiple-social-media-images-114119137?src=4760a9b5-01c2-4efd-b8ff-7d5518288498-1-2">SHUTTERSTOCK</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As survey results pile, it’s becoming clear Australians are sceptical about how their online data is tracked and used. But one question worth asking is: are our fears founded?</p>
<p>The short answer is: yes.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://privacyaustralia.net/online-privacy-survey-results/">a survey</a> of 2,000 people completed last year, Privacy Australia found 57.9% of participants weren’t confident companies would take adequate measures to protect their data. </p>
<p>Similar scepticism was noted in results from the 2017 <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/assets/engage-with-us/research/acaps-2017/acaps-2017-report.pdf">Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey</a> of 1,800 people, which found:</p>
<p>• 79% of participants felt uncomfortable with targeted advertising based on their online activities</p>
<p>• 83% were uncomfortable with social networking companies keeping their information</p>
<p>• 66% believed it was standard practice for mobile apps to collect user information and</p>
<p>• 74% believed it was standard practice for websites to collect user information.</p>
<p>Also in 2017, the <a href="https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/17587/USYDDigitalRightsAustraliareport.pdf">Digital Rights in Australia</a> report, prepared by the University of Sydney’s <a href="http://digitalrightsusyd.net/">Digital Rights and Governance Project</a>, revealed 62% of 1,600 participants felt they weren’t in control of their online privacy. About 47% were also concerned the government could violate their privacy. </p>
<h2>The ugly truth</h2>
<p>Lately, a common pattern has emerged every time malpractice is exposed. </p>
<p>The company involved will provide an “opt-out” mechanism for users, or a dashboard to see what personal data is being collected (for example, <a href="https://myaccount.google.com/intro/privacycheckup">Google Privacy Checkup</a>), along with an apology.</p>
<p>If we opt-out, does this mean they stop collecting our data? Would they reveal collected data to us? And if we requested to have our data deleted, would they do so? </p>
<p>To be blunt, we don’t know. And as end users there’s not much we can do about it, anyway. </p>
<p>When it comes to personal data, it’s extremely difficult to identify unlawful collections among legitimate collections, because multiple factors need to be considered, including the context in which the data is collected, the methodology used to obtain user consent, and country-specific laws.</p>
<p>Also, it’s almost impossible to know if user data is being misused within company bounds or in business-to-business interactions.</p>
<p>Despite ongoing public outcry to protect online privacy, last year we witnessed the <a href="https://www.wired.com/amp-stories/cambridge-analytica-explainer/">Cambridge Analytica scandal</a>, in which a third party company was able to the gather personal information of millions of Facebook users and use it in political campaigns.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, both <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-10/is-anyone-listening-to-you-on-alexa-a-global-team-reviews-audio">Amazon</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/29/apple-apologises-listen-siri-recordings">Apple</a> were reported to be using human annotators to listen to personal conversations, recorded via their respective digital assistants Alexa and Siri. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-if-the-companies-that-profit-from-your-data-had-to-pay-you-100380">What if the companies that profit from your data had to pay you?</a>
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<p>More recently, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/business/secret-consumer-score-access.html">a New York Times article</a> exposed how much fine granular data is acquired and maintained by relatively unknown consumer scoring companies. In one case, a third-party company knew the writer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kashmir-hill">Kashmir Hill</a> used her iPhone to order chicken tikka masala, vegetable samosas, and garlic naan on a Saturday night in April, three years ago.</p>
<p>At this rate, without any action, scepticism towards online privacy will only increase.</p>
<h2>History is a teacher</h2>
<p>Early this year, we witnessed the <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/02/apple-is-removing-do-not-track-from-safari/">bitter end of the Do-Not-Track initiative</a>. This was proposed as a privacy feature where requests made by an internet browser contained a flag, asking remote web servers to not track users. However, there was no legal framework to force web server compliance, so many web servers ended up discarding this flag.</p>
<p>Many companies have made it too difficult to opt-out from data collections, or request the deletion of all data related to an individual. </p>
<p>For example, as a solution to the backlash on human voice command annotation, Apple <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/oct/30/apple-lets-users-opt-out-of-having-siri-conversations-recorded">provided an opt-out mechanism</a>. However, doing this for an Apple device is not straightforward, and the option isn’t prominent in the device settings. </p>
<p>Also, it’s clear tech companies don’t want to have <a href="https://www.securityweek.com/youre-opted-default-know-when-and-where-opt-out">opting-out of tracking</a> as users’ default setting. </p>
<p>It’s worth noting that since Australia doesn’t have social media or internet giants, much of the country’s privacy-related debates are focused on <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/australians-are-rightly-questioning-my-health-record-says-privacy-commissioner-20180730-p4zui3.html">government legislation</a>.</p>
<h2>Are regulatory safeguards useful?</h2>
<p>But there is some hope left. Some recent events have prompted tech companies to think twice about the undeclared collection of user data.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/facebook-fined-us5-billion-in-cambridge-analytica-privacy-probe-20190713-p526xb.html">a US$5 billion fine is on air for Facebook</a>, for its role in the Cambridge Analytica incident, and related practices of sharing user data with third parties. The exposure of this event has forced Facebook to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-privacy-focused-vision-for-social-networking/10156700570096634/">take measures</a> to improve its privacy controls and be forthcoming with users. </p>
<p>Similarly <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46944696">Google was fined EU$50 million under the General Data Protection Regulation</a> by French data regulator CNIL, for lack of transparency and consent in user-targeted ads. </p>
<p>Like Facebook, Google responded by taking measures to improve the privacy of users, by <a href="https://blog.google/products/gmail/g-suite-gains-traction-in-the-enterprise-g-suites-gmail-and-consumer-gmail-to-more-closely-align/">stopping reading our e-mails to provide targeted ads</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/8/16276000/google-dashboard-my-account-privacy-security-redesign">enhancing its privacy control dashboard</a>, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/05/07/google-vows-greater-user-privacy-after-decades-data-collection/">revealing its vision to keep user data in devices rather than in the cloud</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-what-we-could-learn-if-we-put-a-tracker-on-everyone-and-everything-50123">Imagine what we could learn if we put a tracker on everyone and everything</a>
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<h2>No time to be complacent</h2>
<p>While it’s clear current regulatory safeguards are having a positive effect on online privacy, there is ongoing debate about whether they are sufficient.</p>
<p><a href="https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/08/05/gdpr-privacy-eroding-bad/">Some have</a> argued about possible loopholes in the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, and the fact that <a href="https://medium.com/mydata/five-loopholes-in-the-gdpr-367443c4248b">some definitions of legitimate use of personal data</a> leave room for interpretation. </p>
<p>Tech giants are multiple steps ahead of regulators, and are in a position to exploit any grey areas in legislation they can find. </p>
<p>We can’t rely on accidental leaks or whistleblowers to hold them accountable.</p>
<p>Respect for user privacy and ethical usage of personal data must come intrinsically from within these companies themselves. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youve-given-your-dna-to-a-dna-database-us-police-may-now-have-access-to-it-126680">If you've given your DNA to a DNA database, US police may now have access to it</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127444/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Suranga Seneviratne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Most of us are probably having our data tracked in some form. And while there are regulatory safeguards in place to protect user privacy, it’s hard to say whether these are enough.Suranga Seneviratne, Lecturer - Security, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1261902019-11-11T01:57:03Z2019-11-11T01:57:03ZHackers are now targeting councils and governments, threatening to leak citizen data<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299648/original/file-20191031-28972-148wkim.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=119%2C17%2C3874%2C2221&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly complex, as hackers find creative ways to beat ordinary systems of defence. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/christiaancolen/33904011110/in/photostream/">christiaancolen/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent weeks, <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/city-of-johannesburg-held-for-ransom-by-hacker-gang/">Johannesburg’s computer network was held for ransom</a> by a hacker group called Shadow Kill Hackers. This was the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-49125853">second time</a> in three months a ransomware attack has hit South Africa’s largest city. This time, however, hackers didn’t pose the usual threat. </p>
<p>Rather than denying the city <a href="https://www.hkcert.org/ransomware.hk/ransomware-basic.html">access to its data</a>, the standard blackmail in a ransomware attack, they threatened to publish it online. This style of attack, known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware#Leakware_(also_called_Doxware)">leakware</a>, allows hackers to target more victims in a single attack – in this case the city’s citizens.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-ransomware-and-how-to-protect-your-precious-files-from-it-54048">What is ransomware and how to protect your precious files from it</a>
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<p>The latest Johannesburg attack was the second leakware attack of this type ever recorded, and a similar attack could hit Australia soon. And although our current cyberattack defences are more advanced than many countries, we could be taken by surprise because of the unique way leakware operates. </p>
<h2>A new plan of attack</h2>
<p>During the Johannesburg attack, city employees received a computer message saying hackers had “compromised all passwords and sensitive data such as finance and personal population information”. In exchange for not uploading the stolen data online, destroying it and revealing how they executed the breach, the hackers demanded four bitcoins (worth about A$52,663) - “a small amount of money” for a vast city council, they said. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299645/original/file-20191031-187903-1ykyg4q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The hacker group operated a Twitter account, on which they posted a photo showing the directories they had access to.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ShadowKillGroup/twitter</span></span>
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<p>In this case, access to data was not denied. But the threat of releasing data online can put enormous pressure on authorities to comply, or they risk releasing citizens’ sensitive information, and in doing so, betraying their trust. </p>
<p>The city of Johannesburg decided <a href="https://coingeek.com/we-shall-not-pay-the-ransom-johannesburg-tells-hackers/">not to pay the ransom</a> and to restore systems on its own. Yet we don’t know whether the data has been released online or not. The attack suggests cybercriminals will continue to experiment and innovate in a bid to defeat current prevention and defence measures against leakware attacks.</p>
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<span class="caption">This login screen message was displayed on computers in Johannesburg following the attack.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">pule_madumo/twitter</span></span>
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<p>Another notable leakware attack happened a decade ago against the US state of Virginia. <a href="https://www.govtech.com/security/Cyber-Criminal-Demands-10-Million.html">Hackers stole</a> prescription drug information from the state and tried obtaining a ransom by threatening to either release it online, or sell it to the highest bidder. </p>
<h2>When to trust the word of a cybercriminal?</h2>
<p>Ransomware attack victims face two options: <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1361372316300367">pay, or don’t pay</a>. If they choose the latter, they need to try other methods to recover the data being kept from them. </p>
<p>If a ransom is paid, criminals will often decrypt the data as promised. They do this to encourage compliance in future victims. That said, paying a ransom <a href="https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/paying-the-coverton-ransomware-may-not-get-your-data-back/">doesn’t guarantee the release or decryption of data</a>. </p>
<p>The type of attack experienced in Johannesburg poses a new incentive for criminals. Once the attackers have stolen the data, and have been paid the ransom, the data still has extractive value to them. This gives them <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1707.06247.pdf">duelling incentives</a> about whether to publish the data or not, as publishing it would mean they could continue to extort value from the city by targeting citizens directly. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ransomware-attacks-on-cities-are-rising-authorities-must-stop-paying-out-122347">Ransomware attacks on cities are rising – authorities must stop paying out</a>
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<p>In cases where victims decide not to pay, the solution so far has been to have strong, separate and updated <a href="https://www.csoonline.com/article/3331981/how-to-protect-backups-from-ransomware.html">data backups</a>, or use one of <a href="https://www.nomoreransom.org/en/index.html">the passkeys available online</a>. Passkeys are decryption tools that help regain access to files once they’ve been held at ransom, by applying a repository of keys to unlock the most common types of ransomware. </p>
<p>But these solutions don’t address the negative outcomes of leakware attacks, because the “<a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/bm/Documents/risk/cayman-islands/2017%20Deloitte%20-%20Taking%20data%20hostage%20-%20The%20rise%20of%20ransomware.PDF">hostage</a>” data is not meant to be released to the victim, but to the public. In this way, criminals manage to innovate their way out of being defeated by backups and decryption keys. </p>
<h2>The traditional ransomware attack</h2>
<p>Historically, <a href="https://www.techopedia.com/definition/4337/ransomware">ransomware attacks denied users access to their data, systems or services</a> by locking them out of their computers, files or servers. This is done through obtaining passwords and login details and changing them fraudulently through the process of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing">phishing</a>. </p>
<p>It can also be done by encrypting the data and converting it to a format that makes it inaccessible to the original user. In such cases, criminals contact the victim and pressure them into paying a ransom in exchange for their data. The criminal’s success depends on both the value the data holds for the victim, and the victim’s inability to retrieve the data from elsewhere. </p>
<p>Some cybercriminal groups have even developed complex online “<a href="https://www.computerworld.com/article/3173698/ransomware-customer-support-chat-reveals-criminals-ruthlessness.html">customer support</a>” assistance channels, to help victims buy cryptocurrency or otherwise assist in the process of paying ransoms. </p>
<h2>Trouble close to home</h2>
<p>Facing the risk of losing sensitive information, companies and governments often pay ransoms. This is <a href="https://www.synergetic.net.au/ransomware-attacks-on-the-rise-in-australia/">especially true</a> in Australia. Last year, 81% of Australian <a href="https://www.synergetic.net.au/ransomware-attacks-on-the-rise-in-australia/">companies</a> that experienced a cyberattack were held at ransom, and 51% of these paid.</p>
<p>Generally, paying tends to <a href="http://www.rmmagazine.com/2016/05/02/ransomware-attacks-pose-growing-threat/">increase the likelihood</a> of future attacks, extending vulnerability to more targets. This is why ransomware is a rising global threat. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-ransomware-its-sometimes-best-to-pay-up-78036">When it comes to ransomware, it's sometimes best to pay up</a>
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<p>In the first quarter of 2019, <a href="https://www.mcafee.com/enterprise/en-us/assets/reports/rp-quarterly-threats-aug-2019.pdf">ransomware attacks went up by 118%</a>. They also became more targeted towards governments, and the healthcare and legal sectors. Attacks on these sectors are now more lucrative than ever. </p>
<p>The threat of leakware attacks is increasing. And as they become more advanced, Australian city councils and organisations should adapt their defences to brace for a new wave of sophisticated onslaught. </p>
<p>As history has taught us, it’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/oct/01/systems-shut-down-in-victorian-hospitals-after-suspected-cyber-attack">better to be safe</a> than sorry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126190/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roberto Musotto received funding from H2020. He is affiliated with the Cyber Security Research Cooperative Centre (CSCRC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brian Nussbaum is an assistant professor at the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) at the University at Albany, a cybersecurity fellow with the think tank New America, and an affiliate scholar with the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) at Stanford Law School.</span></em></p>A recent leakware attack targeting Johannesburg was the second of its kind ever recorded. Hackers demanded A$52,663 worth of bitcoins, in return for not releasing senstivie civilian information.Roberto Musotto, Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre Postdoctoral Fellow, Edith Cowan UniversityBrian Nussbaum, Assistant Professor at College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, University at Albany, State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1028332018-09-17T10:50:47Z2018-09-17T10:50:47ZDigitizing the vast ‘dark data’ in museum fossil collections<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236483/original/file-20180914-177965-18rfcei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=296%2C7%2C4290%2C3140&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With a lot not on display, museums may not even know all that's in their vast holdings.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/LA-Tar-Pits/b4ca06d8d3894287bb812f0d5c92024a/1/0">AP Photo/Jae C. Hong</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The great museums of the world harbor a secret: They’re home to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.352.6287.762">millions upon millions of natural history specimens</a> that almost never see the light of day. They lie hidden from public view, typically housed behind or above the public exhibit halls, or in off-site buildings.</p>
<p>What’s on public display represents only the tiniest fraction of the wealth of knowledge under the stewardship of each museum. Beyond fossils, museums are the repositories for what we know of the world’s living species, as well as much of our own cultural history. </p>
<p>For paleontologists, biologists and anthropologists, museums are like the historians’ archives. And like most archives – think of those housed in the Vatican or in the Library of Congress – each museum typically holds many unique specimens, the only data we have on the species they represent. </p>
<p>The uniqueness of each museum collection means that scientists routinely make pilgrimages worldwide to visit them. It also means that the loss of a collection, as in the recent heart-wrenching fire in Rio de Janeiro, represents an irreplaceable loss of knowledge. It’s akin to the loss of family history when a family elder passes away. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-06192-9">In Rio, these losses included</a> one-of-a-kind dinosaurs, perhaps the oldest human remains ever found in South America, and the only audio recordings and documents of indigenous languages, including many that no longer have native speakers. Things we once knew, we know no longer; things we might have known can no longer be known.</p>
<p>But now digital technologies – including the internet, interoperable databases and rapid imaging techniques – make it possible to electronically aggregate museum data. Researchers, including a multi-institutional team <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UQhjq5QAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">I</a> am leading, are laying the foundation for the coherent use of these millions of specimens. Across the globe, teams are working to bring these “dark data” – currently inaccessible via the web – into the digital light.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236480/original/file-20180914-177941-jqvlcf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers must travel to visit non-digitized specimens in person, not knowing what they will find – if they’re even aware of their existence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Smithsonian Institution</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What’s hidden away in drawers and boxes</h2>
<p>Paleontologists often describe the fossil record as incomplete. But for some groups the fossil record can be remarkably good. In many cases, there are plenty of previously collected specimens in museums to help scientists answer their research questions. The issue is how accessible – or not – they are.</p>
<p>The sheer size of fossil collections, and the fact that most of their contents were collected before the invention of computers and the internet, make it very difficult to aggregate the data associated with museum specimens. From a digital point of view, most of the world’s fossil collections represent “dark data.” The fact that large portions of existing museum collections are not computerized also means that <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/60536/11-things-lost-then-rediscovered-museums">lost treasures are waiting to be rediscovered</a> within museums themselves. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236479/original/file-20180914-96155-d0n2wi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High-resolution photos are an important part of the digitization process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Smithsonian Institution</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>With the vision and investment of funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States, numerous museums are collaborating to digitally bring together their data from key parts of the fossil record. The <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/">University of California Museum of Paleontology</a> at Berkeley, where I work, is <a href="https://epicc.berkeley.edu/people-participants/">one of 10 museums</a> now aggregating some of their fossil data. Together through our digitized collections, we are working to understand how major environmental changes have affected marine ecosystems on the eastern coast of the Pacific Ocean, from Chile to Alaska, over the last 66 million years.</p>
<p>The digitization process itself includes adding the specimen’s collection data into the museum computer system if it hasn’t already been entered: its species identification, where it was found, and the age of the rocks it was found in. Then, we digitize the geographic location of where the specimen was collected, and take digital images that can be accessed via the web.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.idigbio.org/content/thematic-collections-networks">Integrated Digitized Biocollections</a> (iDigBio) site hosts all the major museum digitization efforts in the United States funded by the current NSF initiative that began in 2011.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=155&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236481/original/file-20180914-177962-15set64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=195&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Team members entering information about each fossil into a centralized database.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Smithsonian Institution</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Significantly, the cost of digitally aggregating the fossil data online, including the tens of thousands of images, is remarkably small compared with the cost it took to collect the fossils in the first place. It’s also less than the expense of maintaining the physical security and accessibility of these priceless resources – a cost that those supposed to be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/world/americas/brazil-museum-fire.html">responsible for the museum in Rio apparently were not</a> willing to cover, with disastrous consequences.</p>
<h2>Digitized data can help answer research questions</h2>
<p>Our group, called EPICC for <a href="https://epicc.berkeley.edu/">Eastern Pacific Invertebrate Communities of the Cenozoic</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0431">quantified just how much “dark data”</a> are present in our joint collections. We found that our 10 museums contain fossils from 23 times the number of collection sites in California, Oregon and Washington than are currently documented in a leading online electronic database of the paleontological scientific literature, <a href="https://paleobiodb.org/">the Paleobiology Database</a>. </p>
<p>EPICC is using our newly digitized data to piece together a richer understanding of past ecological response to environmental change. We want to test ideas relevant to long- and short-term climate change. How did life recover from the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs? How did changes in ocean temperature drive marine ecosystem change, including those associated with the isolation of the cooler Pacific Ocean from the warmer Caribbean Sea when the land bridge at Panama first formed?</p>
<p>To answer these questions, all the relevant fossil data, drawn from many museums, needs to be easily accessible online to enable large-scale synthesis of those data. Digitization enables paleontologists to see the forest as a whole, rather than just as a myriad number of individual trees.</p>
<p>In some cases – such as records of past languages or the collection data associated with individual specimens – digital records help protect these invaluable resources. But, typically, the actual specimens remain crucial to understanding past change. Researchers often still need to make key measurements directly on the specimens themselves. </p>
<p>For example, Berkeley Ph.D. student Emily Orzechowski is using specimens being aggregated by the EPICC project to test the idea that the ocean off the Californian coast will become cooler with global climate change. Climate models predict increased global warming will lead to stronger winds down the coast, which will increase the coastal upwelling that brings frigid waters from the deep ocean to the surface – the cause of San Francisco’s famous summer fogs.</p>
<p>The test she’s using relies on mapping the distributions of huge numbers of fossils. She’s measuring subtle differences in the oxygen and carbon isotopes found in fossil clam and snail shells that date to the last interglacial period of Earth’s history about 120,000 years ago, when the west coast was warmer than it is today. Access to the real-life fossils is crucial in this kind of research.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/236495/original/file-20180915-177953-1qv2pkq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Once digitized, information about a fossil is available worldwide, while the specimen itself remains available to visiting researchers to make crucial observations or measurements.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Deniz Durmis, contract photographer for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Understanding response to past change is not just restricted to fossils. For example, nearly a century ago the director of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, <a href="http://mvz.berkeley.edu/Grinnell.html">Joseph Grinnell</a> at the University of California, Berkeley, undertook systematic collections of mammals and birds across California. Subsequently, the museum <a href="http://mvz.berkeley.edu/Grinnell/index.html">re-surveyed those precise localities</a>, discovering major changes in the distribution of many species, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805123115">loss of many bird species</a> in the Mojave Desert.</p>
<p>A key aspect of this work has been comparison of the DNA from the almost hundred-year-old museum specimens with DNA of animals alive today. The comparison revealed serious fragmentation of populations, and led to the identification of genetic changes in response to environmental change. Having the specimens is crucial to this kind of project.</p>
<p>This digital revolution is not just restricted to fossils and paleontology. It pertains to all museums collections. Curators and researchers are enormously <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.352.6287.762">excited by the power to be gained</a> as the museum collections of the world – from fossils to specimens from live-caught organisms – become accessible through the nascent digitization of our invaluable collections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102833/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charles Marshall receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>A tiny percentage of museums’ natural history holdings are on display. Very little of these vast archives is digitized and available online. But museums are working to change that.Charles Marshall, Professor of Paleontology and Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, BerkeleyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/964342018-08-03T10:40:18Z2018-08-03T10:40:18ZMapping Brazil’s political polarization online<p>People increasingly use social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter as their primary source for news and information. Studying social media habits, therefore, can offer <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebooks-problem-is-more-complicated-than-fake-news-68886">rich insight</a> into the political opinions of a nation.</p>
<p>Our team of <a href="https://scholar.google.com.br/citations?user=lRPVwlkAAAAJ">computer scientists</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VSqMg3kAAAAJ">social scientists</a> from Brazil’s University of São Paulo began analyzing individuals’ Facebook behavior in 2015. </p>
<p>We started in our home country, where Facebook is a favored social media network: <a href="http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2018/brazil-2018/">52 percent of urban Brazilians consume their daily news on the site</a>. Approximately 12 million Brazilian Facebook users interact with political pages on the platform. </p>
<p>By plotting those users’ interactions with such pages – those belonging to a government official, social movement or advocacy organization, for example – we developed a nationwide map of how Brazilian political opinion has changed over the past three years. </p>
<p>The visual that emerged was a shocking portrait of political polarization in action. We are now expanding our research to focus on other polarized nations, including Argentina and the United States. </p>
<h2>Brazil before 2013</h2>
<p>We tracked which pages these 12 million Brazilians had liked over the course of a month, noting when groups of users liked different pages on similar topics.</p>
<p>In 2013, our research found that Brazilian Facebook users with political interests could be categorized into six “user communities” based on the types of pages they visited: (1) conservative politicians and parties; (2) left-wing politicians and parties; (3) hard-line anti-crime groups; (4) anti-corruption campaigns; (5) progressive social movements; and (6) human rights and environmentalism. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=475&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229313/original/file-20180725-194137-1pnwzkx.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A weighted graph of Brazilian Facebook users before June 2013. Each node represents a Facebook page. Larger nodes are more popular pages. Two nodes are linked and grouped when users like a post from both pages, so a cluster of nodes represents a community of users interested in similar topics. The horizontal axis indicates political ideology from right to left. The vertical axis distinguishes civil society organizations from politicians and political parties.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pablo Ortellado and Marcio Moretto Ribeiro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2013, these six discrete Facebook user communities fell neatly along two axes, from the political left to right and from followers of political groups to participants in civil society organizations.</p>
<p>Though there was a clear difference between the online behavior of people who followed left-wing and right-wing politicians in Brazil in 2013, the distance between leftist and rightist social movements was not so vast. </p>
<p>In fact, there was enough overlap between two user clusters – Brazilians interested in progressive social movements and Brazilians interested in the anti-corruption movement – that these “communities” nearly formed a continuum. Many Brazilian LGBTQ supporters also affiliated with the anti-corruption movement back in 2013, and some anti-corruption crusaders were interested in environmentalism, too. </p>
<h2>March 2014</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229316/original/file-20180725-194128-1x484et.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After the June 2013 protests, groups start to divide more sharply between the left and the right, while the other categories fall apart.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pablo Ortellado and Marcio Moretto Ribeiro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That changed after a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/21/brazil-police-crowds-rio-protest">series of spontaneous, massive protests erupted in Brazil in June 2013</a>, fracturing Brazilian society. </p>
<p>Protests began when some residents of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro took to the streets to protest a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/world/americas/bus-fare-protests-hit-brazils-two-biggest-cities.html">steep hike in the city bus and subway fares</a>. After 15 days of continuous protest, both cities reduced their fares. </p>
<p>Rather than quieting down, the unrest expanded to focus on a different demands. </p>
<p>In response to Brazil’s hefty investment <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/brazil-world-cup-anger/">in the World Cup and the Olympics</a>, many Brazilians demanded government funding for public services such as transportation, education and health services. </p>
<p>Another camp, fed up with a <a href="https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/11/economist-explains-14">nationwide bribery scandal called “mensalão”</a> – which had implicated numerous high-ranking Brazilian government officials – demanded a government clean-up. </p>
<p>That month, about 12 percent of the entire population – 200 million people – marched. </p>
<p>By late 2013, citizens on the political right had coalesced around the issue of corruption. Those on the political left had honed in on social programs and public services. As political parties began putting these issues front and center of their platforms, left and right pulled apart, both politically and socially. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the separation between politics and civil society in Brazil was also collapsing. </p>
<p>As we tracked people’s social media behavior, we found that people who liked progressive social movements on Facebook began liking the Facebook posts of leftist politicians more regularly. Supporters of the anti-corruption movement and hard-line anti-crime groups were likewise liking the pages of right-wing politicians more often. </p>
<h2>March 2016</h2>
<p>Between 2014 and 2016, political differences hardened into polarization. </p>
<p>We saw users who once comprised six visibly distinct communities of interest separate into just two groups with very little overlap: progressives and conservatives. </p>
<p>And the separation between politics and society in Brazil had disappeared by March 2016 – online, at least.</p>
<p>The online behavior of Brazilians interested in anti-corruption activism and fighting crime became indistinguishable from that of people interested in right-wing politicians and parties. Meanwhile, Brazilians affiliated with progressive social movements and human rights groups merged with those who associate with left-wing politicians and parties.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/229319/original/file-20180725-194134-186ah9o.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=277&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By 2016, Brazilian Facebook users had become strongly polarized. Users who once comprised six visibly distinct communities of interest had separated into just two groups with very little overlap: progressives and conservatives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pablo Ortellado and Marcio Moretto Ribeiro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In August 2016, President Dilma Rousseff was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/31/dilma-rousseff-impeached-president-brazilian-senate-michel-temer">impeached</a> in a congressional vote that split down party lines. Since then, polling shows that Brazilians have <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/colunas/pablo-ortellado/2017/11/1936897-a-polarizacao-nao-esta-nos-deixando-pensar.shtml">only grown more polarized</a>.</p>
<h2>Polarization worldwide</h2>
<p>Brazil is not the only country to have <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-11/from-brexit-to-trump-polarization-poses-global-risk-wef-says">splintered along ideological lines</a> in recent years. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230282/original/file-20180801-136655-1p7x6qn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One year after the bitterly divisive election of Donald Trump as U.S. president, American Facebook users on the political right shared virtually no interests with those on the political left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pablo Ortellado and Marcio Moretto Ribeiro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In 2017, we began to map the online behavior of Facebook users in other severely polarized countries using the same methodology. So far, we have completed charts for <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-soaring-levels-of-income-inequality-making-us-a-more-polarized-nation-63418">the U.S.</a> and <a href="http://harvardpolitics.com/world/from-polarization-to-persecution-lessons-from-argentinas-media-war/">Argentina</a>. </p>
<p>Both countries look similar to Brazil these days. Right-wing and left-wing Facebook users exist in wholly different universes, not just in terms of the politicians they support but also in their social interests. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=247&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/230283/original/file-20180801-136670-oezou3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Argentine society has been extremely divided since a 2001 financial crisis that impoverished the country and saw four governments removed in three years. By 2017, Argentine Facebook users who supported conservative President Mauricio Macri, in office since 2015, could find no common ground with compatriots who like his predecessor, two-term leftist President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pablo Ortellado and Marcio Moretto Ribeiro</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96434/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pablo Ortellado receives funding from the Ford Foundation and Fapesp.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Márcio Moretto Ribeiro receives funding from Ford Foundation and Fapesp. </span></em></p>Data scientists mapped the online behavior of Facebook users in Brazil, the US and Argentina. The result is a startling visual portrayal of just how deeply polarized these nations have become.Pablo Ortellado, Professor of Public Policy, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)Márcio Moretto Ribeiro, Professor of Information Systems, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/989422018-06-27T05:20:36Z2018-06-27T05:20:36ZHealthEngine may be in breach of privacy law in sharing patient data<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/225044/original/file-20180627-112644-16lm4yt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Online users are not able to give totally informed consent if their permission is sought for multiple things at once.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/mfB1B1s4sMc">christin hume unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-25/healthengine-sharing-patients-information-with-lawyers/9894114">it was reported</a> an online medical appointment service, HealthEngine, was sharing patients’ private information with a firm of solicitors specialising in personal injury claims. </p>
<p>As reported, HealthEngine, which boasts 15 million annual users, requested details of the patent’s symptoms and medical conditions as part of their booking process. It then passed this information to law firm Slater and Gordon at an average rate of 200 patients per month. This was called a “referral partnership pilot” program, and operated between March and August of 2017.</p>
<p>HealthEngine denies sharing this information without patient consent, stating consent was provided by way of a <a href="https://www.afr.com/technology/healthengine-admits-client-data-provided-to-law-firms-but-only-with-consent-20180625-h11tvh">“simple pop up”</a>. Despite the company’s best efforts, HealthEngine continues to face queries regarding their treatment of patient information. </p>
<p>On the face of it, it appears several <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/privacy-fact-sheets/general/privacy-fact-sheet-17-australian-privacy-principles">Australian Privacy Principles</a> may have been breached.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-should-australian-companies-be-doing-right-now-to-protect-our-privacy-85247">What should Australian companies be doing right now to protect our privacy</a>
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<h2>Did patients provide informed consent?</h2>
<p>HealthEngine assures <a href="https://healthengine.com.au/">visitors to their website</a> the collection of information is done strictly by consent, and it has provided disclosures of the use of collected information. </p>
<p>For instance, in <a href="https://healthengine.com.au/privacy.php">its Privacy Policy</a>, HealthEngine notes information may be disclosed to third parties “but only for the purpose of providing goods and services to [HealthEngine]”. </p>
<p>HealthEngine also notes disclosure may be made to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>other persons notified to you at the time we collect your personal information, who you give consent to, or to whom we are authorised or required by law to make such disclosure. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In their “Collection Notice” - one of three policies to which patients must agree, HealthEngine further states it may disclose personal information to “<a href="https://healthengine.com.au/collection.php">third party providers who may be of interest to the patient</a>”, including health insurance comparison providers, finance companies for credit for cosmetic or dental procedures, and providers of legal services. </p>
<p>This appears to contradict their <a href="https://healthengine.com.au/privacy.php">Privacy Policy</a>, which is itself bound by the <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/individuals/privacy-fact-sheets/general/privacy-fact-sheet-17-australian-privacy-principles">Australian Privacy Principles</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/questions-still-need-answering-in-australias-largest-health-data-breach-67916">Questions still need answering in Australia's largest health data breach</a>
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<h2>The Australian Privacy Principles</h2>
<p>The Australian Privacy Principles specify requirements regarding how organisations collect and use patient information. These include how and in what circumstances information is shared with third parties. The principles specify all information collected by HealthEngine must be reasonably necessary for the provision of services. </p>
<p>And they must not collect information unless there is consent, the information is necessary for the function of the organisation, or there’s a “permitted health situation”, which means the information must be necessary to provide services to the patient. </p>
<h2>Click-wraps and bundled consent</h2>
<p>A type of agreement HealthEngine uses to ensure patients using their services agree to the terms and conditions, called the “click-wrap”, involves the patient clicking through the booking process and thereby agreeing to the terms and conditions, links to which are provided. </p>
<p>So the patient is agreeing to three separate sets of agreements (called the <a href="https://www.oaic.gov.au/agencies-and-organisations/app-guidelines/chapter-b-key-concepts">“bundled consent”</a>) — the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, and the Collection Notice — in the one action. This also means agreeing to secondary use of patient information and the provision of direct marketing, as found in the Collection Notice.</p>
<p>The privacy principles broadly prohibit direct marketing unless there is informed consent. And they require the patient to be provided with a simple way to opt out of direct marketing. HealthEngine assures patients they’re under “no obligation” to provide their information, though accepting these bundled terms is necessary to complete the booking and there is no option to opt out.</p>
<p>Informed consent requires the individual to be able to have a genuine ability to provide or withhold consent. This means having informed knowledge of the impact of their decision. It’s evident that with contradictory policies, bundled consent, and potentially misleading terms, a patient could not make a truly informed decision of the impact of their choice to use HealthEngine as the provider of this service. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-data-privacy-goes-missing-will-the-regulators-hear-it-cry-23367">When data privacy goes missing, will the regulators hear it cry?</a>
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<h2>Where to from here?</h2>
<p>Laws that ought to protect individuals online do exist, but the potential for harm online is neither immediate nor always evident. So, as an immediate recourse to online threats, people need to take greater care with personal information online and ensure they seek recourse when issues arise. This requires being better informed about both the law and and individual’s rights and responsibilities online.</p>
<p>The Australian government also needs to take individual privacy and personal information protection more seriously and crack down on violators. </p>
<p>The establishment of the <a href="https://www.esafety.gov.au/">Office of the eSafety Commissioner</a> was a positive move forward, but effective cuts to funding to the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/technology/privacy-commissioner-s-small-budget-to-make-policing-new-data-breach-laws-difficult-experts-say-20180223-p4z1dj.html">Office of the Australian Information Commissioner</a> has the potential to hinder progress.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98942/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Maluga does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An online medical appointment booking organisation was sharing personal information about the users of their platform with a plaintiff law firm.Paul Maluga, Sessional Academic, Solicitor, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.