Facebook Privacy - Research Paper Example

Facebook Privacy Part 1 The law is an important part of social structure and can be broadly defined as a set of rules enacted by the sovereign body to maintain law and order and to disperse justice as per the interpretation of the law for the concerned offence. The rights and liberties of a person in a free country can broadly be defined as the freedom to speech, action and deeds that are devoted to one’s welfare without infringing on other people’s rights. Liberty and freedom of choice has been the most important issue for the rulers and the community at large. Mills has been very vocal on the issue of liberty of thought because he believed that it promotes the conception and inception of new ideas which are intrinsic part of development, which every society undergoes through the time. The governmental and constitutional paradigms of liberty are important factors in the larger interests of the society. Facebook has revolutionized the concept of communication and provided the common man with a powerful tool to give them a effective platform to share information and ideas. There are features in the social networking site like tracking of facebook users and its feature called ‘places’ hugely violates the privacy of the members whereby it routinely makes available the user location data to others. The easy access to information has also become a bane for the authorities and the increasing cases of variety of cyber crimes has become serious issue. The information can be exploited by vested interests like terrorist groups and therefore, strong state control over the administration of internet sites and law against the violation of privacy has become the need of the hour. Indeed, irrespective of the wider ramifications of joining a social network site, the members have a right to maintain their privacy, if they wish to do so. They should have an option in how their personal information can be used. Hence, Facebook’s policies related to members’ privacy violate the fundamental right of the people. (334) Part 2 Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites that provide a free platform to showcase individual interests in myriad forms and medium that include videos, music, personal albums, diaries etc. and emphatically proclaims the superiority of emerging innovative approach to contents and formats that would have mass appeal. It is people-centric and focused on the individual interests of its users. The advertisements are its main source of revenues which has increased tremendously because of the increasing popularity of the site. While it provides free access to the common man, it is also a highly successful business that is designed for the welfare and convenience of the people. Hence, people as major stakeholders, have a right to their privacy and without the consent of the users, the Facebook management cannot make available their private information. The fourth Amendment states that ‘The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violate and no Warrants shall issue… or things to be seized’. The Social Network Users’ Bill of right, primarily based on fourth Amendment, is a critical legal parameter that must become effective. Indeed, while easy access to information through internet has been hailed as the most radical process of dissemination of information, the lack of effective control over the same has become a cause of great concern. The easy access to information has also become a bane for the authorities and the increasing cases of variety of cyber crimes has become serious issue. The information can be exploited by vested interests like terrorist groups and therefore, strong state control over the administration of internet sites and law against the violation of privacy has become the need of the hour. (251) Part 3 The most important feature of the social networking sites is their mode of communication and free platform. While giving a free platform to a common man, it has opened a Pandora box of unlimited scope of expressions and all of them may not be advantageous to the general viewer. According to Johnson ‘It’s working in a zone where there are no experts or where the users themselves are experts’ (2006-07). Though the Facebook management has tried to curb the contents which may hurt the sentiments of the common man, especially like explicit sex and pornography, the wide freedom enjoyed by the users gives them huge leverage to post variety of contents. It has provided the nameless public with an identity which has opened a floodgate of opportunities for them for their personal and professional growth. Indeed, the phenomenal growth in the internet user who are spread across great geographical boundaries, social control mechanisms are more effective than legal controls. Facebook users need to become more cautious in giving out their private information and ensure more judicious discrimination in choosing their cyber friends. It therefore becomes discretionary for the users to disclose or not to disclose highly confidential information. Hence, constitution or law should not be used to interpret the tenets of violation of their rights. (217) Part 4 As a justice in a court of law, I would perceive the violation of privacy of the user as a criminal act. In the contemporary times, the huge ramifications of misusing the private information by the vested interest have become a real threat to the peace and harmony of the people at large. The identity threat, child pornography, sexploitation and other heinous crimes have all become easier through the misuse of information retrieved from the internet. Privacy policies and terms and conditions of the social networking site, in this case Facebook, are primarily tilted towards the management. While they inform how the information would be used. They also describe the conditions when their information can be used by third parties. But in most of the cases, they neither seek the consent of the user when information is passed on to the third party nor they are transparent about the wider ratifications of the use of the said information which is supposed to be private and confidential. Hence, it becomes all the more serious offence. It is true that in the twentieth century, the advent of internet has redefined the concept of the distance and time with its far reaching implications, facilitating wider scope for personal and professional interests. The phenomenal growth in the internet user database has seen huge creativity and innovation in the web based content. The increasing presence of networking sites like Facebook and others have become hugely popular amongst the student community and public, privacy of individuals has literally become meaningless. The deluge of private and public information in the sites has become a grave concern for the peer population, academia and government. The complaints and lawsuits vis-à-vis consumer privacy issues and it violations are testament to the increasing concern of the people for their privacy. Indeed, American constitution is the most flexible and adaptable constitution of the world. Despite being more than 200 years old, the framers had the foresight to provide constitution with ways and means to modify it as per the changing demands of the time. The first and the second amendments amply illustrate the changes that the time made it imperative to incorporate so as to continue the democratic tradition in the changing times. The first Amendment especially can be considered as the fundamental of American democracy that upholds the principles of a free country and prides in the freedom of choice and expression of its citizens. The fourth Amendment gives user the right to maintain his or privacy. Hence the user can sue the Facebook management under the postulates of fourth amendment, also citing the tenets of first amendments that gives details of the rights and liberties of the people. (448) Reference Facebook Privacy. Retrived from: Final Version: Social Network Users’ Bill of Rights. Retrieved from: Fourth Amendment and Facebook privacy. Retrived from: Johnson, S. (December, 2006). It’s All About Us. TIME. December 25, 2006-January 1, 2007, p.55. Retrieved from: Mills, J S. (1899). On Liberty. Retrived from: Read More