Week 6 - Struggling With Privacy Tradeoffs in Digital Era

A Pew Research Center survey released Thursday found no consistent pattern on decisions to give up privacy in return for discounts, rewards, or other benefits:

- A majority (52 percent) of those surveyed said they would allow their medical data to be uploaded to a secure site in order to allow their doctor to keep track of their health.
- But only 27 percent said it was acceptable for a thermostat sensor to monitor movements in the home to potentially save on energy costs. 
- 47 percent said it was OK for retailers to keep track of shopping habits to offer discounts, while 32 percent said it was not acceptable.
- A majority (54 to 24 percent) said it would be acceptable for employers to install monitoring cameras following a series of workplace thefts.  
- Asked about a scenario in which a free social media platform allows people to connect with friends in exchange for sharing data to deliver advertisements, just one in three said this was acceptable, and 51 percent disagreed.

Pew researcher, Lee Rainie stated, "These findings show how people's decisions are often context-specific and contingent. A phrase that summarizes their attitudes is, 'It depends.' Most are likely to consider options on a case-by-case basis, rather than apply hard-and-fast privacy rules."

This was a great article to read since privacy and technology have become a huge topic in recent years.  I thought the results were very interesting.  People are okay with uploading personal information to a site that could be vulnerable to hacking, but uncomfortable with a SENSOR that tracks their movements in their own home?  From an IT security perspective, I'd think it would be the other way around. What about Smart TVs that have motion control or the XBOX Kinect, which both connect to the Internet?  These are common household products and most likely used by those who oppose the thermostat sensor as well.  I think many of us don't realize how much privacy they're already giving up like the use of social media or apps that have access to your personal information, phone contacts, and location.

Also, more people are okay with having their shopping habits tracked for possible discount offers. Personally, I feel that's invasion of my privacy.  There's no need for anyone to know what my browsing habits or history is even if it's only for advertising a product.  If I wanted to purchase something from a site, I'll do it on my own free will.  I don't need ads popping up trying to tempt me.  It's more of a nuisance than anything.

As the article stated, acceptance of losing some privacy with technologies and services will depend on what it is.  There are just too many sides and opinions on it to come up with mutual privacy rules.  It will be interesting to see how everything plays out as more issues like this come up.

References:
http://www.securityweek.com/struggling-privacy-tradeoffs-digital-era