ICTs in Society

ICTs in Society

Topic 2

The evolving world of technology has called for the objective use of social media and most of its contents. The society in which we live today may not entirely have control of the social media contents, and the type of information consumed by the youths, and persons with mental disabilities (Bamman 2012, pg. 3). The issue is the free access to technology among teenagers that cause self-harm. The type of information consumed on these social media platforms is also out of control.

Nevertheless, there is what the authorities, and the government agencies can do to salvage the vulnerable society to the uncensored contents. Social media censorship should be upheld by each jurisdiction to prevent the erosion of the social fabric (Heins 2103, pg. 325). On the other hand, if the contents of social media are not censored, the platform can be a ladder to evil practices among the youthful population. The parenthood role among young children is a question at stake. If a parent allows their children to access the contents on social platforms, it becomes their role in monitoring their children not to access the adult contents. Social media can be a force for good or evil.

Some of the widely used social media platforms among the youths are Twitter and Facebook. Facebook can be a source for good in terms of connecting the children with their friends across the globe. Through the various platforms on Facebook, various people can also learn about various issues in society such as the creation of awareness. Through such platforms, it is easy to raise awareness concerning various causes (Heins 2103, pg. 325). For example, the Ice Bucket Challenge was one of the awareness campaigns, which circulated on social media. The challenge chiefly promoted awareness of the disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The challenge is also known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The social media provided a platform where individuals would interact with one another (Bamman 2012, pg. 3). Many children have fallen victims to cyberbullying, and many of such cases go unchecked due to the comparison between potential anonymity, and in-person interactions. Research conducted by UNICEF among the Swedish Adolescents suggested a correlation between cyberbullying, and rampant absenteeism from school. Therefore, censoring social media contents for the good of the young generation, and the mentally disabled is paramount.

Mental illness among the youths is of increasing concern in many societies in the past decade. According to the statistics about mental health among the teens from the Office of Adolescent Health, 32% high school students aged 9-12 years showed depressive symptoms because of social media use in California (Heins 2103, pg. 325). This calls for censoring approaches by social media developers. The algorithms to these various platforms should be developed such that upon registering, the command will invoke queries about age limits, which must be a field to be filled by the new users. Making that checkbox an optional field will also not meet the ideas the algorithms sough to achieve, and so the algorithms must make it a mandatory field during the registration process (Bamman, 2012, pg. 3). This algorithmic approach will filter out the more vulnerable youths regarding their mental incapacity to consume some contents.

The developers of the various web applications should be responsible for censoring contents. In many occasions, we have seen Facebook developer Mark Zuckerberg put under siege for uncensored Facebook contents, and data breaching among users. Some applications such as Instagram are ranked the top apps, which focus on images (Heins 2103, pg. 325). Parenthood roles regarding the use of Instagram among youths cannot be ignored. Parents must ensure their children consume censored contents. Instagram is prone to uncensored materials especially the images, which impact negatively on the mental health of the youths (Heins 2103, pg. 325). The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) should work in tandem with authorities to ensure uncensored social media contents are eliminated, and possible actions are taken. The role of the APC is to provide access to affordable internet to improve lives, uphold the protection of human rights on social media.

References

Bamman, D., O’Connor, B. and Smith, N., 2012. Censorship and deletion practices in Chinese     social media. First Monday, 17(3).

Heins, M., 2013. The brave new world of social media censorship. Harv. L. Rev. F., 127, p.325.

Topic 3

Personal data protection is a very sensitive topic in today’s world of technology. Think about your bank details being at the disposal of someone else without your consent, or at worse, a stranger. The increasing technology has also put personal data on web platforms at great risk considering sprouting of the online hackers (Zyskind, 2015, pg. 181). Companies must thus step up their game of developing complex algorithms, which ensure total safety of personal data. Different business and organizations use different methods to secure customer data depending on the nature of the company or the organization. Various business owners, and management teams need to learn that the safety of customer data is one of their core mandates. A survey conducted by the YouGov organization in Britain attested to the fact that almost 75% of British consumers are worried about their data on platforms like email, picture access, chat logs, and files. This idea prompted most business to develop comprehensive personal data management systems, and the use of block chin to protect data (Zyskind, 2015, pg. 180). First, spams and malware are some of the greatest threats to the safety of personal data. To curb this, businesses have ensured they have an effective network, endpoint, and email protection, which filters out malware, spams, and other dangerous files types. Such companies install endpoint protection software which detects, and blocks malware threats before they encroach the system.

The control against careless use of portable devices can prevent personal data leakages. Companies have in a place remote device control strategies, which identify and control the portable devices. The strategy guarantees data loss prevention (DLP), stops personally identifiable information (PII), and it prevents the leakage of intellectual property (IP) data (Grachev, 2014, pg. 122). After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook authenticated full encryption of its sensitive data stored in its servers. The existence of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) brings to light the amount of personal data we have ever shared online and their safety. GDPR was permanently enforced into law on May 2018 by the European Union. It has since affected how business collect, use, and store customer data (Grachev, 2014, pg. 124). Under the GDPR, individuals have the right to data portability. This means that such individuals can transfer their data from one service provider to another in a commonly used, and readable machine. They also have the rights to request access to their data, and query the criteria, which informed their data usage. On this pedigree, the companies must, therefore, avail the copies of personal data in an electronic format, and free of charge.

The task to comply with the GDPR regulations falls on the desks of business management. All organizations that use personal data must appoint a data controller or data protection officer. Failure to comply will subject the organization or the company to a deduction of about 4% of the annual global revenue or 20 million euros. GDPR provide strict conditions for obtaining consent. Unless separate consents are obtained for different processing activity, the consumer will be granted the rights to withdraw consent at any time. In cases where the consumers object consent approval, the companies must prove otherwise. To do this, the company must have a full mandate over customer’s data safety.

The Guardian Magazine in July 2018 documented that Facebook was fined a total of £500,000 for data breaches in Cambridge Analytica scandal. This invoked the article on the data protection act, which quoted that Facebook failed to protect and safeguard its user’s information (Grachev, 2014, pg. 123). Besides, Facebook was unable to be transparent about the data, and how others harvested them. There were cases of illicit personal data harvesting by Cambridge Analytica as first reported in 2015 by Harry Davies. The first claim mentioned Ted Cruz, a senator in the US conspired with Cambridge Analytica to harvest millions of data from peoples Facebook accounts. In March 2018, the scandal erupted when an ex-Cambridge Analytica employee attested to the claims (Grachev, 2014, pg. 125). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated with effect to the allegations, citing the ongoing investigations until 2018. The actions by Facebook were not appropriate and timely. Had the management acted swiftly, the scandal would have been avoided at the preliminary stages before the leakage of personal data to million Facebook users.

References

Zyskind, G. and Nathan, O., 2015, May. Decentralizing privacy: Using blockchain to protect        personal data. In 2015 IEEE Security and Privacy Workshops (pp. 180-184). IEEE.

Grachev, V.M., Esin, V.I., Polukhina, N.G. and Rassomakhin, S.G., 2014. Data security   mechanisms implemented in the database with a universal model. Bulletin of the Lebedev       Physics Institute, 41(5), pp.123-126.

Topic 4

The health sector is an ever-expanding field due to various uses of technology in achieving advanced care. The organizational, managerial components of the health care systems require information, and communication technology, which allow for innovative solutions. An example of such technologies is e-Health systems (Li, 2010, pg. 53). e-Health is an emerging sector in medical informatics which refers to the organization, and the type of delivery systems, and the health service information. Up to this century, the technological developments in the health care environments have led to the improvement of the overall health outcomes, and the wellbeing the patients. Long gone are the days when the treatment of cancer was a rocket science due to the lack of modern machines (Li, 2010, pg. 55). Today, there are a million machines for cancer screening, which can detect any stages of cancer development in patients. Health care professionals understand that cancer is one of the deadly diseases, but only if identified at the later stages. Early stages of cancer are curable. Technologies such as Laparoscopic imaging, and CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) have led to the improved outcomes among cancer patients. CRISPR is a cancer treatment that alters the DNA in what scientist refer to as “gene editing.”

The other aspect of technology use in healthcare sectors is with regards to the patient data information. Caregivers who lack comprehensive patient data management systems are at the risk of losing trust among their patients; thus the satisfaction levels will be low. Indeed, the overall outcomes among patients depending on the effectiveness of the flow of information about the patient. Patient’s data must be shared with informed consents (Roski, 2014, pg. 1110). Lack of proper data storage of the patient’s information has led to confusion in health care environments, which have also led to unprecedented deaths. The digital trends hitting the health care industry have taken the correct trajectory of ensuring there is the protection of the patient’s data. Technologies such as the Electronic Health Records (EHR), and the Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) are systems, which help in securing data of the patients (Roski, 2014, pg. 1112). The level of consumption of the patient data now allows for the sharing of such data through personal laptops, desktops, and USB drives. Such methods always put the organization at risk of sharing patient data without their consent. The Health Information Portability, and Accountability Act (HIPAA), was signed into law by the federal government to safeguard against such cases of data breach.

References

Li, M., Lou, W. and Ren, K., 2010. Data security and privacy in wireless body area networks.      IEEE Wireless Communications, 17(1), pp.51-58.

Roski, J., Bo-Linn, G.W. and Andrews, T.A., 2014. Creating value in health care through big data:             opportunities and policy implications. Health affairs, 33(7), pp.1115-1122.