Week 12 Essay

As Internet technology advances and permeates every aspect of our daily lives, some have argued that the benefits of its use are diminished by threats to personal privacy (Balachander & Wills, 2009). Lance Hoffman defines information privacy in terms of three distinct rights: the right of individuals to determine what information about themselves to share with others; the right of individuals to know what is being collected about them and; the right of individuals to access data in order to maintain society and regulate government (Sheehan, 2002). I will be referring to these three key rights as the basis for my argument. Privacy has become a contentious issue for Internet users because of the desire for privacy versus over-regulation of the flow of information verging on censorship / freedom of information. The rising popularity of online social networking sites (OSN) like Facebook has placed governments in an awkward position on how to deal with the privacy issues without risking censorship. For the first time in our history, there is a disconnection between our assumptions about privacy and the means of linking up through networks and technology. Tension is growing between privacy regulators, users and internet companies and with the Australian government set to release a new version of the Privacy Act later this year it is only a matter of time before new laws will make this business even more complicated (Gettler, 2010).

Online Social Networking (OSN) giant, Facebook began when Mark Zuckerberg launched the site as a Harvard undergraduate in 2004 (Carlson, 2010). The site was an instant success and it is estimated that there are now well over half a billion people utilizing the online social networking site. Facebook started out as a form of communication for students, friends and colleagues but has now become a way for individuals to form their online identity and is a marketing heaven for advertisers. Facebook users are able to control their information by limiting and disabling other’s access to their wall posts and personal information but they are unable to control others’ access to their photos feature. Facebook users are able to upload, store, view and ‘tag’ themselves and others in photos. Once ‘tagged’ in a photo posted by another user the only control a user has is to either ask them to remove the photo or ‘un-tag’ themselves, although this will not remove the photo from the OSN (Jones & Soltren, 2005). There have in fact been cases when photos posted online have been used or altered without the user’s permission. This was the case with twenty-one year old Lara Jade Coton when US porn company Hustler used a photo of her as a fourteen year old on the cover of one of its X-rated DVDs – ‘Body Magic’. Horrified, Coton went on to win $132,000 in damages based on misappropriation of her image, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Staff, 2010). The right of individuals to determine what information about themselves to share with others is abused by Facebook because of the lack of control that users are allowed to have over their photos.

A vast amount of personal information has been made available via OSN’s such as Facebook. Although the amount of information required to create a Facebook account is minimal, the total amount of information a user can post by their own will is relatively large (Jones & Soltren, 2005). The only data fields required to create a Facebook account are name, e-mail address and user status but the willingness of users to supply unnecessary personal information has contributed to the growing concerns over privacy. The ability to personally control information about oneself is fast becoming one of the most important policy issues facing the Internet (O'Neil, 2001). It is not only the willingness of Facebook users to disclose unnecessary personal information but also that third parties are actively seeking out end-user information (Jones & Soltren, 2005). Facebook acknowledges that individuals have the right to know and control what information is being collected about them and provides settings on the privacy page that allows users’ to control who has access to certain information. However, the privacy settings that allow users’ to control third party access to their information is not as easily accessed as it is not located on the main privacy settings page. According to Jones and Soltren, Facebook is able to disclose any personal data to advertisers and even if a user requests that certain personal information is not shared, there is no evidence that one’s request will be honored (Jones & Soltren, 2005).

In research commissioned by The Daily Telegraph it was found that a staggering number of Facebook users were willing to ‘add’ people they did not know to be their ‘friend’ and volunteer their personal information, including their date of birth, workplace, e-mail address and location. Some even volunteered full addresses and phone numbers. Providing this amount of private information makes the crime of identity theft a walk in the park. Brian Hay of the Queensland Fraud Squad said, “Some people have surrendered almost all the information a criminal needs as the foundation to represent those people and take out financial instruments in their name” (Tabakoff, 2009).

Regulators and users around the world are struggling to work out the boundaries of online privacy and as these concerns continue to increasingly be a contentious issue for Internet users, Facebook and other OSN’s have a lot of pressure to increase their privacy settings and to make the means of controlling ones personal information more transparent. It will be increasingly important in the future for companies such as Facebook to allow individuals access to data such as who is accessing their information and what they are using it for. This will be important as Hoffman outlines in the final key right of information privacy in order to maintain society and regulate governments. Although it is extremely important for users of OSN’s like Facebook to practice intelligent information sharing, ultimately lasting change in online privacy will only come from a gradual development of common sense regarding what is appropriate to post in social networking forums (Jones & Soltren, 2005).

Lara Jade Coton's photo used on porn DVD cover without permission

Identity theft has become an issue 

Creator of Facebook - Mark Zuckerberg

Reference List:

·      Balachander, Krishnamurthy, Wills, Craig E On The Leakage Of Personally Identifiable Information Via Online Social Networks, (2009)

·      Carlson, Nicholas At Last – The Full Story Of How Facebook Was Founded, (2010)

·      Gettler, Leon How secure is that site?, (2010)

·      Jones, Harvey, Soltren, Jose H Facebook: Threats to Privacy, (2005)

·      O’Neil, Dara Analysis of Internet Users’ Level of Online Privacy Concerns (2001)

·      Sheenhan, Kim Bartel Toward a Typology of Internet Users and Online Privacy Concerns, (2002)

·      Singh, Anita Facebook users put themselves at risk of identity theft, (2007)

·      Tabakoff, Nick Facebook users are sitting ducks for identity theft, (2009)

·      Xueming, Luo Trust production and privacy concerns on the Internet. A framework based on relationship marketing and social exchange theory, (2000)

·      Staff, ninemsn UK woman sues after photo used on porn cover, (2010)

Week 10 - Final Blog Evaluation

I enjoyed learning how to create a blog and researching topics which I wouldn't usually have the chance to research (although some topics were quite random!) I have learnt about new ways to utilize the internet and new ways to conduct research. I particularly enjoyed learning about culture jamming. Its been fun!

Week 9 Tutorial Task & Tutespark

Write about your chosen essay topic, your initial thoughts about this topic, and where you think you may begin researching it.

Why is privacy such a contentious issue for internet users? Discuss with reference to at least ONE social network service (or other web2.0 service)

I've chosen essay topic #3 as I believe it to be a very relevant social topic in todays society. With the emergence and growing popularity of social networking sites and other forms of online communication privacy is becoming a big concern for a lot of internet users. People so far have been too nonchalant about the personal information that they share online with not much thought as to who can access it.

There is a myriad of information about this topic so I will begin researching by looking at online journal articles and news stories. I will then look at the library for relevant texts.

Week 8 - Tute Task and Tutespark

Many writers have utilised cyberpunk as prefigurative social and political theory in the realms of urban studies, cultural theory and the sociology of the body. Below are some of the main, recurring themes.

Fusion of man and machine: In addition to cyborgs, sentient programs and robots, cyberpunk often blurs of what it means to be human. Traits we take for granted as representing humanity disappear via introspective looks brought on by the fusion of man and machine. This fusion also affects the control of perception - numerous storylines explore with influences to perception, usually involving some method of virtual reality environment to either mask or take the place of the “real world.”


Sources:

• http://au.tv.ign.com/top-100-animated-tv-series/54.html
• http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22479

MAY/JUNE 2009

A Go-Go Cyborg Arm

Inspector Gadget … an Inspiration?

By Michael Rosenwald

People who have lost an arm have not traditionally had much hope of ever regaining meaningful function. Prosthetic arms have been controlled in a rudimentary way, by transforming residual shoulder movements or muscle signals into the ­simplest movement commands. These artificial arms cannot do two things at once, much less three or four. Amputees often toss them in the closet out of sheer frustration.

But the situation is starting to change, thanks to a team led by Todd Kuiken, director of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago's Center for Bionic Medicine. Kuiken has developed a novel surgical technique that, when paired with both motorized prosthetic arms already on the market and experimental bionic arms developed through a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program, affords amputees a remarkable degree of dexterity.

Claudia Mitchell, who lost her arm in a motorcycle wreck in 2004, remembers putting on a prosthesis after undergoing Kuiken's procedure and seeing it work for the first time: "You could not wipe that grin off of my face”. Mrs Mitchell is now working with her husband on additional gadgets that could be incorporated into the prosthesis. They have so far created a bottle opener that Mrs Mitchell says she wears to parties "People can't believe how this thing works," she says. "They want to know what else we have planned!"

Thrilled at the success of the prosthesis, Mr Kuiken has plans to approach the military with designs for a lightweight, bionic weapon worn on the arm for soldiers. Mr Kuiken says, “The possibilities are endless!”

Tutorial Task Week 7

1. What is creative commons and how could this licensing framework be relevant to your own experience at university?


‘Creative Commons is a worldwide project that encourages copyright owners to allow others to share, reuse and remix their material, legally. We offer a range of free licences that creators can use to manage their copyright in the online environment, each providing its own specific protections and freedoms. We have built upon the “all rights reserved” of traditional copyright to create a voluntary “some rights reserved” system’. (Creative Commons website)

Creative Commons have licenced free courses run by Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU). P2PU is offering free university grade courses online. This is relevant to Australian and international universities because the licencing framework used by Creative Commons enables people to access educational packages and courses online easily. It could be the future of secondary education.

2. Find 3 examples of works created by creative commons and embed them in your blog.


Example 1: African Sleeping Sickness Test

'Murdoch University scientists led by Zablon Njiru and Andrew Thompson have developed a simple blood test for African sleeping sickness (human African trypanosomiasis or 'HAT') which they’ve published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases under a Creative Commons Attribution licence, making their findings accessible to the world'.
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/African_Sleeping_Sickness_Test


Example 2: Architecture for Humanity

Architecture for Humanity operates under the motto ‘Design like you give a damn,' it is a non-profit design services organization that aims to build a sustainable future through professional design, seeking architectural solutions to humanitarian crises. Co-founder Cameron Sinclair established the Open Architecture Network in 2007 which was developed in conjunction with Creative Commons and Sun Microsystems. Sinclair believes that Creative Commons licenses could act as a platform that designers could work from 'At the moment, the industry is in a very gray area and nobody knows what belongs to who, who’s really the designer, who’s liable. CC licensing could clear that up.’
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Architecture_for_Humanity


Example 3: Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow is a writer, blogger, and futurist that has embraced the ideals of Creative Commons from the beginning.
Doctorow has been producing Creative Commons licensed works since 2003 with the publication of the first Creative Commons licensed novel 'Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom'. His reasoning for using Creative Commons Licenses was that by making his work available for free it has increased the number of sales that he gets.
http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Case_Studies/Cory_Doctorow

3. Find an academic article which discusses creative commons using a database or online journal. Provide a link to and a summary of the article.

Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright

By Ariana Eunjung Cha

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 15, 2005; Page E01


This article discusses the emergence of Creative Commons Licenses into the mainstream. It refers to the use of particular licenses to distribute music and movies and the growing interest in Creative Commons Licenses as artists, authors and traditional media companies begin to race to capitalise on technologies such as file sharing and digital copying.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35297-2005Mar14.html



4. Have a look at Portable Apps (a pc based application) – provide a brief description of what it is and how you think this is useful.


Portable Apps Suite and Platform is a free download that enables you to carry your personal computer programs, bookmarks, settings, email and more on your portable device (USB, iPod etc). It is useful because it doesnt leave files or folders on your device and enables you to  access your software and personal data just as you would on your own PC. And when you unplug the device, none of your personal data is left behind.

Week 7 - Tutespark

Try some free software - good examples which are free and easy to download are: Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird, Gimp, Audacity, amsn, pidgin, etc.


Try to use it exclusively for a few days - then decide whether you like it or not! Say why/why not.


For the purpose of this weeks Tutespark I have chosen to download the free web browser software Mozilla Firefox 3.5. It was fast and easy to download and install. Once I started using the software I liked it instantly, it was simply nicer to use. Firefox has thousands of add-ons to personalise your browser, plus so many more features to make using the internet faster and even more convenient. One feature I particularly liked was the 'Awesome Bar' which allows you to simply type a term into the location bar and the autocomplete function will include possible matching sites from your browsing history.





I also found it fun that you can choose from thousands of different pictures and photos in the 'Personas Gallery' to personalise the look of your browser. I used to use safari on my personal computer but after trying firefox I wont be going back. It seems faster, more personal and more fun to use!

Week 6 - Tutespark

Leading on from the lecture on online privacy & social networking....Who owns the content you put on the internet on various sites? This includes pictures, video, text, etc? Think about all the content you upload onto social networking sites - Do you own it? Who has the right to use your creations?
I think we like to think that we own it, it is after all our thoughts, memories, ideas, photos and videos, it is our choice to put it on the internet. BUT to refer back to the lecture, how do these big business's make their money?...are we working for them? Are they selling our information to the highest bidder? If they are using our information to make money maybe they own the content we so willingly upload. I think we own our personal information, but as soon as we willingly upload content to the internet without using copyright or other means of protection we are basically giving it away.