Privacy is a huge concern with regards to new media. My term paper goes far more in depth with specific examples by Facebook, but user data and how companies handle it is a significantly under looked aspect of our lives. A significant majority of our actions online are being tracked by the very websites we are using. The platforms we use then can do a wide range of things with that information. In the case of Facebook, they gave their data to researchers who in turned manipulated 87 million users by sending propaganda and political advertisements in order to sway their vote.
A worrying aspect of privacy and confidentiality is that most major companies only disclose leaks or misuse of user data when documents are leaked or reporters do wide ranging exposes. This means that we as users must care more for our privacy and data because trusting companies is the wrong move. Methods we can use is only trusting sites that don't collect so much data. We can read the permissions we allow applications and the information hidden in terms of service to understand exactly what is being collected. Another option is using a virtual private network or VPN that hides user activity from ISP's and gives a freedom to users.
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