Imagine a thirsty hiker in a dense jungle who stumbles upon a sparkling stream of water. The hiker, parched and desperate for immediate relief, drinks from the stream without pausing to consider whether the water might be contaminated or harmful. The immediate need to quench thirst overshadows any concern about long-term consequences, like falling ill later.
Similarly, we eagerly sign up, providing personal (and sensitive) information to gain access to digital tools because of the perceived immediate benefits, such as enhanced productivity, social engagement, or convenience. However, we often skip reading the privacy notices and policies, unaware or dismissive of how our data might be processed or misused, and who the data is shared with, just as the hiker ignores the potential risks of the water. We give consent without safeguards or a proper understanding of the implications of what we’ve consented to, this simple but uninformed action could lead to detrimental consequences, such as compromised privacy or misuse of personal data.
Why should you Care?
Imagine what could go wrong after drinking contaminated water, the type and level of contaminants introduced into your body system, and the short-term and long-term effects, which could be as bad as organ damage or neurological disorder, among other possible effects, just for temporal relief.
When issues on data privacy are raised, we tend to be unbothered, largely because, beyond the actual information supplied, such as name, address, and contact number: one, we are unaware of the other kinds of information that are being collected and processed as well as the possible deductions that can be generated from the same; two, it is not an immediate cause-effect harm; three, the alarmed consequence is a probable outcome, not a certainty; and four, even when some of such consequences materialise (such as profiling and automated decision making by AI tools), we are mostly unaware of its impact on our daily lives or immediate environs.
However, digital tools often collect and process more data than necessary, sometimes intruding on your privacy. Beyond basic sign-up information, some digital tools also track personally identifiable information, such as names, emails, and biometric data, as well as behavioral patterns like browsing history, keystrokes, and app usage. Some tools also gather real-time location data, gadget information, microphone recordings, and even social interactions, mapping relationships based on communication habits. Financial transactions, purchase history, and health metrics can also be logged without you fully realizing it.
In this age of data commodification, the excessive personal information collected and processed by these digital tools not only intrudes on your privacy but can also lead to other severe detrimental uses and serious risks, such as identity theft, targeted surveillance, data breaches exposing you to financial harm, reputational damage, and/or emotional distress if leaked or sold on the dark web as well as potential discrimination and “preferential spoon-feeding” (through algorithmic filtering causing bias reinforcement, manipulative marketing, loss of autonomy, censorship and/or misinformation).
How will reading privacy notices and policies before consenting help?
Will you knowingly drink contaminated water damning the consequences? Reading the privacy policies of digital tools before consenting saves you from the detrimental corner of “ignorance is bliss” thereby preventing you from ignorantly consenting to possible privacy intrusion and invasion in exchange for access to such digital tools. Consent is only informed when you understand and appreciate the implications of such consent. Reading the privacy notices and policies enables you to gain insights into what kind of information will be collected, how the information will be processed and used, who the information will be shared with, as well as, issues relating to the trans-border transfer of the information.
Such insights help you appreciate the implications of using and processing your data, the legal basis and obligation behind such data processing, and the fortitude to petition regulatory bodies or seek legal redress when your privacy is abused, invaded, threatened, or exposed to any detrimental outcome, and/or when your data is being processed or retained beyond the purpose for which you gave consent.
What then is the role of the Government and regulatory bodies?
Governments and regulatory bodies play a crucial role in safeguarding individuals’ data privacy by enforcing laws and setting standards (such as the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Nigeria General Data Protection Regulation (NGDR), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)), holding corporations accountable via diverse measures such as fines, and collaborating internationally to ensure privacy rights still apply to personal data transferred across international borders.
Also, government and regulatory bodies ensure that you are not buried in voluminous and boring privacy policies, hence, they safeguard your right to be presented with privacy information and policies in a concise, transparent, intelligible, and easily accessible form using clear and plain language.
Why should you still Care?
Even with strong regulations by the government and regulatory bodies, you must still be proactive in protecting your data because enforcement gaps, legal loopholes, and corporate resistance can undermine privacy rights.
Also, the Government can be a party to privacy invasion, as revealed in the Schrems cases (Schrems I & II) whereby the U.S. surveillance programs accessed EU citizens and residents’ data via tech companies, despite legal frameworks such as Safe Harbor and Privacy Shield. This makes safeguarding your privacy your primary concern. It is essential that you take control of your own data privacy and security through cautious online behavior, limiting data sharing, and using privacy-focused services and digital tools
DISCLAIMER
Thank you for reading this article. While we hope you find it informative, please note that same does not in any way constitute or amount to legal advice and must not be construed as such. However, if you have any enquiries, please contact the author @ inquiries@fortlords.com.