How Surveillance Increases Exploitation of Social Media Users

How Surveillance Increases Exploitation of Social Media Users

Although the internet was supposed to bring about an era of global unity, equality and intellectual freedom, social media platforms are actually bringing about the destruction of these values. Social media is a wonderful thing, it is a place for communication and self expression. It allows users to share ideas and network with others on a global level. Although social media may seem as though it provides many benefits, it also has some drawbacks. Online surveillance techniques increase the exploitation of consumers of interactive and social media. Most often the word surveillance makes people think of cameras spying on unsuspecting victims. Online surveillance involves literal spying, by hacking users’ webcams and video communication devices, as well as the exploitation of users’ online habits.

Social media exploitation is the process in which companies involved in social media, both service providers and businesses that advertise online, exploit users’ online habits to sell to corporate interests, or, in terms promote social media companies target their users through customized ads and products through the solicitation of user information and advertising space. Since social media platforms record hold vast amounts of data on individual users, they possess a substantial amount of ‘consumer currency’ in that they know detailed information about their users’ buying habits, product preferences, favourite entertainment and even their budgets. This is evident in how it is necessary to provide a substantial amount of personal information, including, but not limited to name, relationship, employers and race, prior to being able to create a social media account. Users who think they are using a free service to send emails, share photos or create digital bulletin boards are actually providing the providers of those free services rich information about what they like, where they shop and how much they are willing to spend. Various social media platforms, from facebook to tumblr, harvest and even sort this information into usable categories, then sell it to businesses directly, or use it as a means of attracting advertisers who are increasingly looking for the most efficient way to market their products to a specific demographic. Social media exploitation occurs when businesses use social media to their advantage to create user profiles in order to market their products towards their target audience. Social media platforms take advantage of what they are given - which is the user’s trust.

Social media platforms also exploit their users in the form of direct surveillance. While social media exploits its users by selling user information to major businesses and corporations to help them target ads toward its users, at least this practice is somewhat above-board as long as individuals invest the time in reading through their user agreements. Surveillance in social media can be used in a negative way to exploit its users.  The immense amount of information that one needs to provide in order so sign up for these social media sites is astounding. A person’s name. birthday, email, interests, photos and sometimes even location are available for anyone to see. The underhanded form of online surveillance is perpetrated by predators with negative intentions, who use surveillance in social media to prey on their victims, and, to a less sinister but just as invasive degree, employers who use social media platforms to gain information about a potential employee that they may not be able to obtain during an interview. Social media screening is a common way that social media exploits their users. Employers are able to research potential employee’s social media profiles, prior to giving them an interview. Employers can exploit social media in order to determine the best candidates for their companies, they can obtain access to thousands of applicant’s information in order to create a file on them prior to having them in for an interview. Social media screening is also used to aid employers in determining information – that is illegal to ask during an interview - such as; marital status, religion, and disability about a potential employee prior to hiring. The use of surveillance via social media platforms exploit users by revealing information to parties that the user most likely did not intend to share information with.

A much more dangerous effect of surveillance via media platforms is a direct result of the vast quantities of personal information that is stored and vulnerable to exploitation by hackers and predators. It seems like every month there is a news report about a security breach that has unlawfully released significant batches of consumer private information. In a March 2017 MSNBC report, it was revealed that hundreds of mobile apps and websites are leaking personal information. If even the White House is unable to prevent WikiLeaks from making bi-annual media dumps of millions of ‘secure’ files, the average consumer cannot realistically be considered safe from exploitation. The massive amount of sensitive information that can be accessed with relative ease by anyone online is what provides the hunting grounds for predators on social media. Through the use of surveillance on social media platforms predators take advantage of the widely available information on its users to target certain individuals. Elections can be affected if not compromised by the release of data once considered secured on social and digital media platforms. Information can be used by predators and others with bad intentions to target certain individuals leading to heated discussions of privacy among and on social media sites. Ironically, online predators use these same popular social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, as hunting grounds for their prey. Researchers at Americas Conference on Information Systems noted that while social media users express serious and significant concerns about their online privacy, they are far less likely to take the steps to shield and protect it.

The use of surveillance within social media platforms is prevalent as seen in the way businesses exploit its users.  Businesses use social media and its users to their advantage, as online companies such as Facebook and Google sell advertising space on their websites to companies that want to reach a target audience. Advertisers use key words or details such as relationship status or location to run ads targeted at certain subsets of its users. Ads that pop up on a user's’ screen may seem useless or a nuisance but they are much more than that. The ads users see on a daily basis are a result of the collecting and analysis of their personal information and search history. Other social media outlets actually sell user information to marketing companies in order for them to develop their ads or products around user information.  For example, Pinterest an interest-oriented media-sharing website, sells information such as names, phone numbers and email addresses to third party advertisers and developers to target media towards it users. It is estimated that in 2016 Google’s advertising revenue was $19.1 billion, up 17% from last year, demonstrating the efficacy of using user information to target ads towards specific groups.