In a democratic nation, online privacy should and should be a basic human right. However, today, a large number of Internet Service Providers are playing on this basic human right in plain sight to earn millions, if not billions, by exchanging your private data. You may be wondering why, what the hell should you spend the time to protect your online activity? And, it’s natural. To answer this particular question, here are some reasons you should know about.
Your basic human right: Today, millions of people around the world do not differentiate between online and offline privacy. However, you should always keep in mind that the current legal system of democratic nations such as the US, India, UK, EU countries, Japan, South Korea, and many countries strongly protects individuals’ right to privacy. .
Organization like UNHRC, ICCPR, a series of national and international treaties, and written words on the constitution of various nations, enshrine “privacy” as a fundamental basic human right.
The year was 2015 when the United Nations Human Rights Council noted that enormous progress in communication technology has made it easier for corporations and the government to record an individual’s daily activity and can easily block freedom of expression. The authoritarian government can very easily suppress protests and can even limit the spread of information, while a corporation can sell the data to the malicious contractor for money. In short, online privacy makes you stronger than the government itself.
The absence of privacy online makes it unsafe: Every time you are connected to the digital world, you leave a permanent traceable trail of your private data. This recognized as “fingerprint”. What is this? Well, it’s your online bio! It can reveal your health information, shopping habits, sleep patterns, keystrokes, and much more. Scared yet? Various third-party providers may access this large amount of personal data for targeting purposes. You do not believe me? Open your preferred search engine and type your name. I am sure you will be surprised to see the result. This data can put your reputation and physical security at risk. Do you remember the incident when Pokémon Go was released?
The risk to freedom of expression: Privacy is a fundamental ingredient of freedom of expression. Privacy control for certain groups is absolutely necessary. Privacy is important to people in general and it is crucial for people involved in journalism, activism and opposition politicians to avoid intimidation for their ideas. These people often become the central pillar of any democracy and I think you now understand the importance of privacy online.
It can affect your reputation: Most of us, using the Internet, have at least one or two embarrassing stories that we would like to keep private. If we travel back to the 70s, people were good at keeping their privacy safe. However, at the digital edge, it’s quite possible that your private stuff lives on inside your “digital footprint.” If we go back a few years, many of us heard about the “iCloud” fiasco! Remember those celebrity faces hiding from the camera (I mean the journalist’s camera, of course!)? That can be you!
In conclusion, I want to say that for the sake of your own life, try to minimize your digital footprint. Stop uploading every bit of your private information, try to live beyond tracking, and live free. Your privacy is very important and you are not trying to destroy it, get a lovely like or comment. And if you think that this doesn’t matter to you since you have nothing to hide, then I would quote someone. Who is my hero and who inspires me the most: Edward Snowden. “Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying that you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”
