Zeock
TS Member
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- Nemesis
First of all, I am definitely more solicitous about internet privacy than most people. My search engine is DuckDuckGo, and I use the Signal messaging app. However, I still know that there are companies that know a lot about me because I have both a YouTube account and a Discord account. I use Reddit, but I don't have an account there.
There are a myriad of people who think internet privacy is needed now more than ever. It is palpably clear to everyone that the amount of data being collected and stored is increasing. The digital trail we all leave behind, which consists of all the information you give about yourself online, is slightly esoteric. If you are on the internet, potentially anyone can find you. The Internet provides unprecedented ease of communication, but it is very insecure. Even if you delete a message, it can easily be retrieved by someone with the skills to do so.
One area that is particularly egregious in terms of privacy is the area of social media. Social media is very good at deluding people into thinking that privacy no longer subsists. As technology advances, the concept of privacy becomes blurred. Privacy is essential to human life because it allows us to have freedom of expression. The importance of privacy is still very important because it allows us to feel both safe and in control. However, as we become more dependent on technology as a society, the line between what is private and what is public is becoming increasingly blurred. Some argue that there is not much that can be done about privacy because private information is often posted online for anyone to see. Data shared on social media can often engender malevolent people attacking the person who shared their data, whether online or in real life, after these people have tracked the poster down. Many younger people who have grown up with social media take the lack of privacy for granted because they don't remember a time before social media when private information wasn't stored online. More recently, however, people have learned the risks of sharing private information and have become more careful about what they post on social media. This suggests that privacy is not deceased.
Some people seem to think that national security is more salient than privacy and that giving up their privacy could help law enforcement identify threats to society in all forms. Nowadays, most people accept CCTV cameras in public places. They say that if people have nothing to hide, then there is no point in keeping things private. This is quite an interesting quandary, but shouldn't it be possible to be able to conciliate between national security and privacy? To protect and value both?
There are also people who are aloof about privacy because those people believe that they are not important, but they are just small cogs in the wheel of society. Why would companies endeavour to spy on you if you really weren't that important?
Even with the advent of the World Wide Web, there are still ways to protect your privacy online. You can simply share less online or use strong passwords. You can also use a VPN. (The Opera search engine has one integrated, but most need to be procured), or simply block search engines from tracking you. Free Wi-Fi is also something to be wary of, as it can expose you to a virus, and public Wi-Fi can be compromised by a hacker who can inject your device with either viruses or malware.
In conclusion, I believe that more legislation should be put in place to protect everyone's privacy online, as it is a basic human right, and despite living in the online age, if new protection laws were put in place, it would allow for a greater degree of privacy in our online lives. I hope that I have been able to put together a cogent argument in this essay about why online privacy is still acutely important in 2023.
There are a myriad of people who think internet privacy is needed now more than ever. It is palpably clear to everyone that the amount of data being collected and stored is increasing. The digital trail we all leave behind, which consists of all the information you give about yourself online, is slightly esoteric. If you are on the internet, potentially anyone can find you. The Internet provides unprecedented ease of communication, but it is very insecure. Even if you delete a message, it can easily be retrieved by someone with the skills to do so.
One area that is particularly egregious in terms of privacy is the area of social media. Social media is very good at deluding people into thinking that privacy no longer subsists. As technology advances, the concept of privacy becomes blurred. Privacy is essential to human life because it allows us to have freedom of expression. The importance of privacy is still very important because it allows us to feel both safe and in control. However, as we become more dependent on technology as a society, the line between what is private and what is public is becoming increasingly blurred. Some argue that there is not much that can be done about privacy because private information is often posted online for anyone to see. Data shared on social media can often engender malevolent people attacking the person who shared their data, whether online or in real life, after these people have tracked the poster down. Many younger people who have grown up with social media take the lack of privacy for granted because they don't remember a time before social media when private information wasn't stored online. More recently, however, people have learned the risks of sharing private information and have become more careful about what they post on social media. This suggests that privacy is not deceased.
Some people seem to think that national security is more salient than privacy and that giving up their privacy could help law enforcement identify threats to society in all forms. Nowadays, most people accept CCTV cameras in public places. They say that if people have nothing to hide, then there is no point in keeping things private. This is quite an interesting quandary, but shouldn't it be possible to be able to conciliate between national security and privacy? To protect and value both?
There are also people who are aloof about privacy because those people believe that they are not important, but they are just small cogs in the wheel of society. Why would companies endeavour to spy on you if you really weren't that important?
Even with the advent of the World Wide Web, there are still ways to protect your privacy online. You can simply share less online or use strong passwords. You can also use a VPN. (The Opera search engine has one integrated, but most need to be procured), or simply block search engines from tracking you. Free Wi-Fi is also something to be wary of, as it can expose you to a virus, and public Wi-Fi can be compromised by a hacker who can inject your device with either viruses or malware.
In conclusion, I believe that more legislation should be put in place to protect everyone's privacy online, as it is a basic human right, and despite living in the online age, if new protection laws were put in place, it would allow for a greater degree of privacy in our online lives. I hope that I have been able to put together a cogent argument in this essay about why online privacy is still acutely important in 2023.
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