The End of Privacy as We Know It?: The Ethics of Privacy on Online Social Networks

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This presentation explores a thesis on the ethics of privacy on online social networks. The purpose of this thesis is to determine the ethical responsibilities of online social networks to protect privacy. Although the social norms of online privacy are in flux, online social networks must employ fair information practices by notifying users when private information is shared. They must give users the opportunity to refuse consent to share information and only use information for its intended purpose. Online social networks have slowly eliminated user control without receiving meaningful user consent to do so, therefore violating the user-service provider relationship. Online social networks have also used choice architecture and design against users to push them in the direction of sharing more information than they would otherwise. By eliminating user control, online social networks have slowly destroyed privacy through unethical means. *** 2010 Winner of Stanford University's Lyle and Olive Cook Prize for the best Ethics in Society honors thesis *** To find out more, go to www.cristinajcordova.com or contact Cristina Cordova at www.twitter.com/cristinacordova

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THE END OF PRIVACY AS WE KNOW IT?: THE ETHICS OF PRIVACY ON ONLINE SOCIAL

NETWORKSCristina Cordova

Ethics in Society Honors ProgramMay 2010

PRIVACY IN THE NEWS

WHY?

WHY?

I aimed to determine the ethical responsibilities of online social networks to protect privacy.

WHAT?

I aimed to determine the ethical responsibilities of online social networks to protect privacy.

WHAT?

I aimed to determine the ethical responsibilities of online social networks to protect privacy.

WHAT?

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?

1. It’s your personal information

2. Your information may be shared with third parties (including personally identifiable information)

3. Third parties can keep your information for as long as they want

4. Many users joined when Facebook was private, assuming that Facebook would remain a private network

5. What will be made public next?

Privacy as Control Westin’s definition of “the claim of individuals, groups or institutions to

determine for themselves when, how and to what extent information about them is communicated to others” Autonomy Release from Publicity Self-Evaluation and Individual Decision-making Limited and Protected Communication

WHAT IS PRIVACY EXACTLY?

Privacy as Control

WHAT IS PRIVACY EXACTLY?

How is privacy on social networks different?

PRIVACY ON EMAIL AND E-COMMERCE

• Perceived Privacy• Trust• User Interface Design• Consequences

Facebook makes it hard for you to understand its policies

FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY POLICY

• Updated every few months • Read by very few users• Longer than the United States Constitution

FACEBOOK’S PRIVACY POLICY

Facebook opts users in to sharing information in ways they

may not want

October 2009 January 2010

DEFAULT: OPTED IN

Beacon

Instant Personalization

DEFAULT: OPTED IN

WHAT WAS PRIVATE IS NOW PUBLIC

CHOICE ARCHITECTURE

CHOICE ARCHITECTURE

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Facebook’s privacy settings are too complicated for users

NAVIGATING PRIVACY SETTINGS

?

DIFFICULT TO PRIVATIZE

EASY TO SHARE

BARRIERS TO USER CONTROL

WHY?

WHY?

Ethical Information Privacy Practices

ETHICAL INFORMATION PRIVACY PRACTICES

Notification

Use

ABUSE OF NOTIFICATION AND USE

ABUSE OF CHOICE AND SECURITY

Choice

Security

WHAT NOW?

Read my thesis online here: http://scr.bi/fbthesis