Online Invasion of Privacy

 Blog #3 Ted Talks – Online Invasion of Privacy 

The most chilling example of invasion of privacy was detailed in Darieth Chisolm's TED Talk. The thought of someone taking intimate photos of her while she was sleeping, then posting them online without her knowledge, let alone her consent, is horrifying. To add insult to injury, finding out that the photos taken are the legal property of the person trying to hurt and humiliate her is hard to comprehend. According to the Drexel University Law Review, under the Copyright Act of 1976, photographers, paparazzi, or whoever takes the pictures own the photographs, and another party cannot use the material without their permission. A law enacted in 1976, in a world without social media, requires updating to protect individual interests in the internet era. What happened to Chisolm could happen to anyone, and the worst thing about this is finding out that the victim has very little protection under the law.

It is no secret that the information people voluntarily share online will be publicly available indefinitely. Juan Enriquez gave a thought-provoking TED Talk comparing the information people post about themselves online to “electronic tattoos”. Now, from the time a baby comes into the world, their photos are out there online, willingly shared by their parents with unknown numbers of people. According to mindowl.org, social media feeds the need for instant gratification through likes and comments by satisfying short-term impulses. Enriquez offered insightful comparisons to Greek mythology, advising that information someone shares today will remain accessible to all, including future romantic partners and employers. Perhaps short-sightedness is a major human behavioral flaw because people already know that everything posted is permanent, yet choose to do it anyway. 

According to a recent USA Today article, Facebook, which changed its name to Meta in 2021, has been fined billions of dollars by the federal government over the years for privacy violations and for sharing members' data with third-party companies. The empire has been built using surveillance capitalism as a business model. Billions of users are fully aware that they live their lives online. They agree to the terms and, for the most part, do not want it to change. Ethical implications aside, Mark Zuckerberg should not be blamed for successfully tapping into a need and becoming one of the richest and most influential people on the planet as a result. If society wants to continue using social media despite the risks to personal privacy, then government involvement is unnecessary. I would venture to guess that, even after the situation Chislom endured, she has not completely stopped using social media. Closing Pandora’s Box is not possible when even my grandmother uses social media daily.