In 2005, Google launched it's now ubiquitous web tool Google Analytics which is used to keep track how visitors use websites all over the world. This data is often sold, though not exclusively, to advertisers to market products to audiences that would be more open to purchasing them based on the data gathered. This data isn't readily available and sites often hide what they do with or how much data they gather in cryptic language buried in lengthly privacy policies.
There are many who decry this access to how they use the internet, and fifteen years after the establishment of this software on January 1st, 2020, a new form of legislation finally went into effect in California which allows users to see the data that has been gathered and allow them to remove data linked to them from their digital footprint, giving it's citizens more power over their online presence.
Addressing the privacy of users has been slow since legislators have seen little direct public consequence and public opinion has largely been apathetic to the practice; and while the web itself is not seen as a technological revolution, rather a "sub-revolution" of the larger computer revolution itself, Moor proposes a hypothesis in his paper Why we need better ethics for emerging technologies regarding the implications of technology as society adapts it further:"As technological revolutions increase their social impact, ethical problems increase."
While the internet and the data that it is comprised of is largely immaterial, there are other technologies that may one day have more direct consequences. Moor goes on to discuss the areas of research such as Genetic technology, nanotechnology, and neurotechnology, which he believes could have the same impact on our daily lives as computers do today, and that the ethical ramifications of their wider implementation, should it come to bear, should be more widely discussed.
Some might argue that it would slow down the progress of cutting edge technologies, an example of how bureaucracy interferes with free enterprise and creates needless red tape. Considering how far behind governance and public opinion lag behind the visionaries who see the potential of emerging technologies and are able to bring their products to bear before the rest of the world truly understands what may be happening, some compromise may need to be reached as we attempt to maintain the delicate balance between what is ethical and what is progress.
Hi Thomas,
ReplyDeleteAs I started reading, I thought the latter part of your title was your thesis, but as I went on, I saw that your actual thesis, and key insight for the conversation, was in the last paragraph because you did not explain how policy lags behind new tech.
I think you should focus more on the idea of the last paragraph and provide examples for things you mentioned in there as it acts as a conversation starter. But, I did enjoy the fact that many websites hide their data tracking in wordy policies.
The opening example of Google Analytics is very relevant in discussing our use of the web today. The discussion of how legislation relates to privacy is an intriguing and important one.
ReplyDeleteYour post would benefit from a re-ordering of your points. Bringing the examples and ideas from Moor to just after your "hooking" example will help your readers situate themselves in your argument of a needed compromise between too much legislation and not enough data transparency.