Advancement in Technology
Advancement in technology has significantly enhanced the way myriads of people across the globe share information. The current world of technology has helped people to interact for various reasons. For instance, people from different geographical locations can do business online. Additionally, they are also able to interact socially through online platforms. Through the internet, people get to know more about new inventions and innovations. Although people use internet for social and financial benefits, it is not all times they get positive outcomes. Online platforms such as Facebook contain some individuals with ill motives of exploiting and abusing others. The primary focus of this essay is to review the articles providing information about the hazards of the internet.
Microtargeted Ads and Privacy Violation
Aleksandra Korolova wrote an article regarding how microtargeted ads violate private information. The report offers data about attacks with a potential to abuse privacy by carefully analyzing the broadcasting systems providing micro-targeting capabilities. The case study mainly narrates how these ads are used in Facebook and the threats they pose to private data of the user. According to Korolova (29), the objectives of securing private information may not be met if there are no rigorous privacy guarantees. Consequently, there is an urgent need to design systems with privacy assurance. Although popular platforms such as Facebook try to refrain from sharing private information with the advertisers, the marketing systems they use always allow them to get information about the users. Hence the intermediary layer offered by Facebook between the users and advertiser is not enough to ultimately secure personal information.
Abuse of Personal Information
Wolak and others explored further information regarding abuse of personal information. According to these scholars, numerous people befriend young and innocent people through the internet with the intention of misusing them. Many children are sexually abused by these predators who pretend to be good people. According to Wolak et al. (116), there should be a way to solve the problem facing young people who end up being preyed on through the internet. Young people should be educated on the possible hazards associated with sexual relationships with adults. Young adults and children who post their profiles on the internet are at high risks of being abused by the aggressive sexual predators (Wolak et al. 116). Numerous people have been arrested and charged with statutory rape since they engaged in intercourse with youths who are not mature enough to consent to sexual intercourse.
Protecting Personal Information and Preventing Abuse
The articles mentioned above talk about how private information is violated. The ads created by advertisers tend to fetch personal information from sites where they are designed. Various ethical standards help in minimizing these challenges. The site administrators should ensure that the ads added to their websites do not disclose any personal information about the users. Additionally, the users of the website should ensure that privacy settings for their accounts are always set as default. On the issues regarding the predators, the government, parents, and well-wishers should educate the youth about the real hazards of romantic relationships with adults (McGee 158). The government should come up with strict measures to those people who will be caught abusing children and young adults. To further protect the young people from predators' abuse, the site administrator should have a program to verify the information given by any individual when filling up their profiles on their websites.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social websites are used for good intentions and also bad ones. Young people are the ones affected most by these social platforms. However, they can still be safe if the appropriate actions to protect them are taken.
Works Cited
McGee, P. "Ethical Issues In Using The Internet In Research -- 2: Commentary". Research Ethics, vol 4, no. 4, 2008, pp. 158-160. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/174701610800400406.
Wolak, Janis et al. "Online "Predators" And Their Victims: Myths, Realities, And Implications For Prevention And Treatment.". American Psychologist, vol 63, no. 2, 2008, pp. 111-128. American Psychological Association (APA), doi:10.1037/0003-066x.63.2.111.
Korolova, Aleksandra. "Privacy Violations Using Microtargeted Ads: A Case Study". Journal Of Privacy And Confidentiality, vol 3, no. 1, 2011, pp 27-58. Journal Of Privacy And Confidentiality, doi:10.29012/jpc.v3i1.594.
