Online privacy may not exist yet

Privacy is a fundamental human right, a right that deserves to be protected and enforced in all its forms.

In recent decades, however, the ethical lines that our society draws between what privacy does and does not mean have become blurred. As both governments and private actors become more intrusive and people have resigned themselves to trading their privacy for convenience, we are at a pivotal point in history.

If at all, how can we regain control of our private data in a society that constantly allows the walls between public and private life to be broken down?

Ask people what they think of their privacy, and most will answer how much they appreciate being left alone, free from intrusions and unwanted surveillance. In addition, most will also express concern at their inability to escape a growing surveillance state enabled by new technologies and annoyance at their lack of refuge.

Modern technologies, such as social media, mobile phones and online banking, have enabled centralized companies and authorities to constantly monitor our conversations, activities, purchases and relationships. All over the world, people have become accustomed to giving up privacy in exchange for digital conveniences.

Indeed, we are often subtly, and not so subtly, forced to relinquish our privacy.

How did this happen?

One of the first questions to answer when considering the idea of ​​privacy is: how did technology become so intrusive? Also, why do we have to give up so much information to take advantage of what have now become basic online services such as navigation, purchases and food ordering?

The answer lies in the way the internet has generated revenue since its inception. Every step we take online, every click, scroll and keystroke we make is collected by the servers we interact with. This data is misused by companies like Google and Meta to make billions of dollars every year. Major tech companies sell targeted ads based on online movements and data profiles. While this may seem like a small price to pay for “free” access to the World Wide Web, it has serious consequences.

One of the most egregious examples of data misuse in recent memory is the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Cambridge Analytica is a political consultancy that obtained the private Facebook data of tens of millions of users before the 2016 election. These psychological profiles of American voters were packaged and sold to campaigners, political advocacy groups, and anyone willing to foot the bill. This intimate data store made it possible for interest groups to aggressively and precisely target certain demographics to promote political agendas.

However, this wasn’t the first instance of misuse of what most users would otherwise consider “private” data – and it certainly won’t be the last.

Online Privacy and Government Surveillance

In 2022 alone, Amazon admitted that Giving Ring Videos to the Police 11 times without user consent or court order. These incidents are not isolated, but are part of the way the current internet works.

Similar government practices may have had even broader implications. Since at least 2001, following the enactment of the Patriot Act, the U.S. government has been monitoring the domestic communications of ordinary U.S. citizens for no reason at all. Proponents argued that giving the government more leeway in obtaining wiretapping warrants would help the government better respond to threats to national security. Opponents feared it would be used inappropriately and, as it turned out, they were right.

Even after this kind of behavior was stamped out in the courts, documents obtained by journalists showed that overseas surveillance by US intelligence agencies still allows the National Security Agency (NSA) to use information “accidentally” gathered from domestic communications without a warrant.

This behavior paints a grim picture for the private citizens of the world. With both companies and governments exploiting our private lives, how can we undo all this damage? Is there a workable solution?

Legislative action

If there is a solution, it should be twofold, at the same time combining new technological innovations and legislative measures.

From a legislative perspective, policymakers have been taking steps to overcome big tech privacy violations for some time, with varying degrees of success. In 2018, California unanimously adopted the California Consumer Privacy Act, which was a huge step forward in restoring users’ online privacy. The law, which came into effect in 2020, gives users the right to know what information companies like Meta and Google collect, why they collect it, and who they share it with, along with the option to prevent these companies from selling their data. not at all.

While this legislation was incomplete and only applicable to California citizens, it has the potential to provide an initial framework for future legislative action.

Tech sector follows suit

Another set of solutions comes from the technology sector itself.

In particular, the “trustlessness” of blockchain technology has been applied to create solutions for: financial privacy protection in hopes of enabling efficient, scalable, and secure peer-to-peer transactions that do not require intermediaries. Before the invention of cryptocurrencies, users of online financial services had no choice but to rely on central authorities to keep their personal and financial data safe and responsible.

Conversely, blockchain transactions have the potential to enable anonymous transactions where users retain full control over both their personal data and their transaction history. Transactions can be executed instantly around the world, 24/7, in a system with minimal trust, without compromising personal or financial data. In many ways, this technology has reintroduced the privacy of peer-to-peer cash transactions to the online world.

Despite some signs of hope that the right to privacy can be restored online, users still face an uphill battle against technology companies, their well-funded lobbyistsand the governments hate to give up the access they currently have.

However, the key to successfully preserving privacy ultimately lies with the decisions of individuals. How much longer will we sacrifice privacy for convenience? The speed at which we develop nascent blockchain technologies is likely to hold much of the answer.

Bryan Hernandez is the president and co-founder of Structure, a platform for DeFi, crypto and traditional markets to be launched in El Salvador in 2022. He previously founded Sonar Trading, which used algorithmic strategies in cryptocurrency markets. Hernandez entered the field of trading and investing after a career in computational biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Broad Institute and Harvard University, where he published multiple articles in Nature, Cell, and other peer-reviewed journals.