How would Media enterprises use your personal data.

Recently there has been a lot of controversy around Facebook and them apparently selling your personal data to other company. They have been selling information on our activity online, our interests and our locations. Third party apps have access to around 50 million users information.

Facebook was recently pulled in to the supreme court to discuss the use of users data the court was concerned that they were selling data and reading private messages between users possible selling this information. Some information other company's sell includes email addresses, screen names, web addresses and you're your history.

The Market for personal information is now a billion dollar industry and Facebook generated $4.27 billion in revenue and a lot of that is from selling or information.

These Companies that collect data from social network say that they are only using the information that is publicly available and that they have not broken any rules or breached the privacy of their users.

However many don't think so, many think that this is still a breach of privacy also seeing as email are not publicly available and they have been selling emails as well. Emails can be used to sign people up for things they don't want to be and with someones email it is easier to hack in to their accounts.

Companies also use cookies to make sure what they are advertising to you, you are more likely to click on and consider buying something from. So it is arguable not just used for bad things. Companies also look at your friends on social media and see what they are buying online, this is done to further improve on how personal your ads online are to what you are more likely to buy.

The Data Protection act

The data protection act 1998 states is an act created to protect peoples personal information.

What the data protection act includes-

• The company holding your data can only charge up to £2 for you to see your information.

• Any incorrect information must be corrected, if this is not done court can order the data destroyed or corrected.

• The data can't be used in anyway that could harm an individual.

• They can't sell phone-numbers and personal information to company's so that they can advertise to the people whose information was sold.

Sources:

https://www.alphr.com/features/373735/how-social-networks-sold-your-privacy

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/12/05/facebook_email_leak/

https://www.propublica.org/article/yes-companies-are-harvesting-and-selling-your-social-media-profiles