Privacy, Surveillance, and The Law of Social Media

Introduction

An individual has the right no to be subject to automated individual decision making, this is as it is stipulated in article 22 of the UK general data protection regulation (GDPR). “a subject shall have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling which produces legal effects concerning him/ her or similarly significantly affects him/her.”[1] The GDPR is devised to coordinate anonymity laws in the UK for the shielding of subjects against the unlawful processing of personal data and its free circulation coming with it.[2] Personal data, in this case, refers to any information that relates to an unidentified or identifiable living individual.[3] In the UK, data protection law was initially governed by Directive 95/46/EC, and later on, the GDPR which was brought into effect in May 2018. The data protection act applies when personal data is gathered, and stored by an organization or individual for use.

            Serious infringement of this stipulation leads to a fine of ten million euros or 4% of the organization’s annual turnover of a fiscal year whichever is higher. An individual responsible for the use of personal data has to adhere to a set of strict rules referred to as ‘data protection principles. They therefore must make sure that the information is: used in a fair, lawful, and transparent manner, used for the specified and explicit purposes, used adequately, relevantly, and limited to only what is necessary, kept up to date, and kept for no longer than is necessary, handled securely, including protection against unlawful or unauthorized processing, access, loss, destruction or damage.[5]

With the UK and the international community economy revolving around the availability and the use of data, the question of how this provision is affecting the marketers has risen a discussion in recent days. It brought about the questioning of the purpose of its existence and whether it should be removed and replaced with legislation more focused on whether automated decision-making meets a legitimate interest area. In this paper, I will carry out a critical analysis of what this provision does for the society and its effect on the market thereby determining whether it’s in the best interest of the UK, in general, to remove the provision or if it should be kept in place.

Advantages of having the stipulation

This provision also plays a major role in maintaining the credibility of the enterprises and brands. People are not trusting in nature and knowing that there is a set of laws that has your best interest goes a long way in maintaining the credibility of businesses. Besides, it’s a fact that once this provision has been waived, the businesses will act majorly in their interests than those of their customers. Working to maintain that companies are in line with the GDPR standards has become a vital benchmark for enterprises providing products and services to companies, as well as for the companies that seek to differentiate themselves to potential consumers.[11] Its therefore in the businesses’ best interest to make sure that they adhere to this provision so that the consumer can be confident when receiving services from a brand. Responding quickly to data breaches and remaining in compliance with the GDPR, as will inspire ongoing trust with your customers.[12] this provision, therefore, works in favor of both parties involved.

This provision also works as a guide for what data should be collected, how much, and how it is stored. This might not look like much on the surface but it guides how the data will be used and therefore takes the decision from the organizations. Article 5 (1) (e) of the GDPR and Article 5 (4) (e) of Modernized Convention 108 both demand that personal data be “kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the data” are processed. The persona. To this end, “this time frame is established by the GDPR to provide the time that is necessary the data be scheduled for erasure or for a review” to ascertain that the personal data is kept for the right amount of time, no more than it should.[14] this stipulation makes sure that only the necessary information is taken and it’s stored properly. Without such regulations, there is bound to be a mishap in how the data is handled and a possible leak that would affect one or many individuals.

Disadvantages of the Stipulation

The sharing of the said data can lead to saving lives. What I mean by this is that since nowadays smartwatches thet take the vitals of their owners have become a common thing, then the data recorded by the owners of those providers can be used to find out even the slightest of body changes that occurs just before a stroke or even a heart attack. They can therefore employ this data in making sure that when it happens to another person they are warned.

Personalized ads have led to the exponential growth of small businesses. This point goes in both ways, say I am shopping for coffee then the business enterprise suggests a packet of sugar for me, then they suggest bread, and so on. They would be using the data obtained to make my shopping easier while still marketing their products. This would be very beneficial for both parties involved one in saving the time they use for shopping and the other in boosting their profits. “Last year a 30-second TV commercial in the US cost an average of 104.7 thousand dollars, and that’s not even including the price of the production.” [17] now imagine a person tweeting a picture of their business and based on the article people like they reach the targeted audience. Then that person has cut through the noise in the market ad advertised their product without spending as much as 5 euros on an advert.

There is also the issue of health and pharmaceuticals in general. If there was data sharing showing the different places and the different diseases that are prevalent, then it’s easy to calculate the correlation and come up with drugs that are needed in that specific region. In addition, when the pharmaceutical companies are producing a drug, they know is meant for a specific region, then that drug will be customized to meet the legislative specifications or standards of the specific country. They can also customize the medication to withstand the prevalent conditions of the targeted area. Thousands of people often view content posted by pharmaceutical companies on social media; users also share company postings making both direct and indirect influence possible.[18] to say the least, shared information would positively impact the pharmaceutical business and help the residents of a certain area.

Lastly, there are other businesses that are based in countries that are not bound by a similar set of provisions, this would mean that the businesses base here and offer the same set of services or products are at a disadvantage.it would be simpler if the rules were fair in all regions not just in the UK. We might be correct in holding these enterprises responsible but there will always be that gap between them and the enterprises that operate in a more unethical manner or a manner that doesn’t pay much interest to the privacy of the customers. This overregulation also impacts innovation. Adding red tape in the form of endless consent prompts for every data process might significantly burden customers in their enjoyment of online services and applications in an age when user-friendliness is one of the key factors in retaining customers.[19]innovation always goes hand in hand with freedom, the more freedom our developers are given, the more creative they are bound to get. And the more creative they get the better our products will be and the ability to rule the international market once more. Its therefore a positive to make sure that we keep up with the external regulations.

Conclusion

After the panel has been selected, then it will be easy to monitor what a specific organization will need to ensure the growth of our economy, and benefit the consumer and producer while making sure that the right to privacy holds even if the individuals are not the ones to sign off. In conclusion, this agenda can improve this country but it needs time to be actualized. It is an idea with many advantages but without being ready, the price is just way too high to make people pay for their economy. However, it should be tabled and discussed over time to come up with an oversite that can replace GDPR without losing our rights.

Bibliography

Government Digital Service, ‘Data Protection’ (GOV.UK, 15 November 2011) <www.gov.uk/data-protection> accessed 7 May 2022

Edwards J, ‘6 Business Benefits of Data Protection and GDPR Compliance’ (14 January 2021)

Direct marketing code of practice; draft code for consultation p 26

Sharma S, Data Privacy and GDPR Handbook (Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, John 2019) p 61

General Data Protection recital 39

Alavi T, ‘4 Benefits You Receive by Sharing Your Data to Companies’ (towards data science, 30 November 2020) <https://towardsdatascience.com/4-benefits-you-receive-by-sharing-your-data-to-companies-70ca58e11989> accessed 8 May 2022