Digital privacy GD | Essay

What is Digital Privacy ?

Digital privacy is the privacy and security level of personal data published via the internet. In other words we can call it as online privacy. Internet privacy is cause for concern because nowadays most of the work of purchases ,communication, gaming , business are done online. In real life, we do not share our personal info with a stranger. We choose what to reveal while dealing with a stranger in any way. In the same way, it is important to consider one’s privacy while dealing businesses online. There are real people working behind inanimate computers or android devices. And that must be considered or checked for sure when a person is working on computer. nowadays since internet is affordable and the children learn to handle it very soon, that makes it more than an important reason for taking internet privacy as a prime matter.

Digital privacy means the protection of the personal information of individuals who use digital mediums.

Why is privacy important?

Privacy is one of the most fundamental human rights that we are privileged to have. The right to privacy is the protection against having a society in which the government completely controls the people’s lives, and requires the government to protect individuals from privacy invasion by other people, governments and non-government organisations such as: Businesses, charities and non-profit charities. Right to privacy ensures that personal emails, bank details and medical records are safe and secure by the government and the organisations that own the services used. This is essential to human dignity and autonomy in all societies around the globe.

Why Digital Protection is Needed

Instances of data privacy violations, identity theft and personal information misuse have led to increased monitoring and consumer pressure to prevent disclosure or compromise of personally identifiable and sensitive information.

A case in point is the recent case where a researcher linked to Cambridge Analytica (CA), a political consulting firm had accessed details of 50 million Facebook users. The data was shared with Cambridge Analytica, which used online data to reach voters on social media with personalized messages and swayed 2016 US elections.

According to a report Demystifying the EU General Data Protection Regulation, by Pwc, “As per estimates, there have been more than 575 reported data breaches which have exposed more than 13 million records in eight months in 2016.” In the backdrop of increasing concerns over data thefts and mishandling of sensitive information the government of various countries are formulating new policies to contain data leaks. The recent development is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by European Union.

Respecting the Individual’s Data Privacy, Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) suggests ‘Data security breaches may take place in-spite of adoption of best practices/ necessary measures taken by the data controllers and processors. Sharing of information concerning to data security breaches should be encouraged and incentivized to prevent/mitigate such occurrences in future.”

Digital Privacy and its Importance

Data privacy relates to how a piece of information or data should be handled based on its relative importance. For instance, you likely wouldn’t mind sharing your name with a stranger in the process of introducing yourself, but there’s other information you wouldn’t share, at least not until you become more acquainted with that person. Open a new bank account, though, and you’ll probably be asked to share a tremendous amount of personal information beyond your name.
In the digital age, we typically apply the concept of data privacy to critical personal information, also known as personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI). This can include Social Security numbers, health and medical records, financial data, including bank account and credit card numbers, and even basic, but still sensitive, information, such as full names, addresses and birthdates.
For a business, data privacy goes beyond the PII of its employees and customers. It also includes the information that helps the company operate, whether it’s proprietary research and development data or financial information that shows how it’s spending and investing its money.
Data privacy is very important. It’s why people put locks on filing cabinets and rent safety deposit boxes at their banks. But as more of our data becomes digitized, and we share more information online, data privacy is taking on greater importance.

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