Review and contribution of the film to the field of CyberLaw

Review and contribution of the film to the field of CyberLaw

The entertainment industry in the U.S. has always discussed real issues that people face, and hacking and cybersecurity-related issues have also gained importance. The documentary “Terms and Conditions May Apply” shall be reviewed, and its contribution shall be highlighted as well.

 

Review of the film “Terms and Conditions May Apply”

The documentary “Terms and Conditions May Apply” was released in 2013 in the U.S. and the director Cullen Hoback’s main focus was to express the issues that users face after agreeing to click on the “I Agree” tab presented by various corporations and the government bodies (Tacma.net, 2019). In this age of smartphones and the internet, people prefer online services, and while purchasing goods and services, they often come across that tab. Once they click on the tab, they are giving access to their personal information to the government and company sites. Data of users should always remain confidential, and organizations, whether government or private, do not have the right to use that information for personal gains.

Nevertheless, user’s data no longer remain confidential in this digital era. The film mainly describes that the language of corporations and government bodies on the World Wide Web is misleading for users. They agree to click on it, and it forms an agreement between them and the organizations.

These online service providers take advantage of the confidential information of customers. In its 80 minutes running time, the film criticized organizations like Google, LinkedIn, and Facebook for creating such misleading agreements and warns the public the implications of agreeing to the statement (Barrasso, 2019). It is clear that the film is against this practice, and people possess the right to speak against this practice. Moreover, it shows the people that government and private organizations use long and uninviting texts so that customers lose interest quickly and click on the “I Agree” tab to proceed to the next stage. The information collected from users is distributed to the third-parties. This is an unfair practice, and the safety and security of online users are at stake. The public should withdraw the practice of scrolling in a directionless manner.

Laws associated with data security in online platforms

Online security in the age of information is vital because the rising usage of various platforms poses a range of threats. Since information is always readily available, it is challenging for users to differentiate between right and wrong information. Nevertheless, public information should be secured because they share information online after trusting the sites. CyberLaw deals with laws that are applicable to information security and communication. Organizations are supposed to comply with it in order to retain the trust of the users. For instance, the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act” (CISPA) states that the government has the right to investigate cyber threats. It is mainly done to ensure the protection of network systems against malicious attacks. In 2011, the Act was passed, and in 2015, it was finally modified (Jasper, 2017). A series of changes and reintroductions have been made. Moreover, CISPA supports organizations such as Facebook and Microsoft and states that sharing information with government bodies is an effective way of preventing the risk of cyber threats. However, CISPA has been subjected to criticism because it does not clearly highlight the extent to which government bodies can monitor a user’s browsing history. Internet privacy advocates and civil bodies claimed that the government might use the information to spy on the users rather than identifying malicious hackers. Hence, the application of the Act is a debatable matter. Similarly, the “Electronics Communication Privacy Act” (ECPA) is another Act established in order to deal with online security issues. The U.S. government passed the Act in 1986, and it states that the government possesses the right to use digital communication mediums (Burnside, 1987). The communication mediums mainly involve email and texts in social media. ECPA also allows the government bodies to track the location of users because most of the users use the GPS in their smartphones. Big corporations like Google and Microsoft can also be involved. They track the user’s data and supply the data to the government. Information might be 180 days older. The government bodies request big corporations like Google and Microsoft to share the user’s data.

Film’s contribution to CyberLaw

The film highlights the fact that government bodies are misusing their powers by not disclosing their real intentions behind using the information of online users. The statements that users agree to while scrolling and browsing the online marketplace are lengthy and consists of detailed information. The public does not possess the time as well as mental faculties to go through such lengthy statements. They agree to the statements and fall prey to the traps. Facebook or Google are tech giants, and online users usually access their sites for a range of purposes such as education, entertainment, and commerce, or information exchange (Dance, LaForgia & Confessore, 2018). The film beautifully depicts the ways in which this practice has gone unnoticed for a long time. A justification of this practice cannot be made based on CISPA and ECPA. These Acts has been criticized before for its unclear statements and favoritism towards the government activities. In one way, the film has successfully created awareness among the online users and thereby contributed towards their safety and wellbeing on online sites. It has narrated the real effects of approving the service terms. Hence, its contribution is paramount and regarded as one of the best films on hacking and cybersecurity. The government can renew its cybersecurity laws and understand the ill-effects of its practices (Sommer, 2000). Modifications in CISPA and ECPA are necessary, and these laws should be re-introduced by stating the extent to which an individual’s private information can be accessed and shared by government bodies.

It can be concluded that the film’s agenda to expose the practices of tech giants and the government has been fulfilled. The level of awareness it has created is worth applauding. Regular online users are now more aware of their online activities. Modifications are necessary for the existing CyberLaws.

 

 

References

Barrasso, N. (2019). 7 Best Movies About Cybersecurity and Hacking. Cybereason.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019, from https://www.cybereason.com/blog/movies-about-cyber-security-hacking-crime

Burnside, R. S. (1987). The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986: The Challenge of Applying Ambiguous Statutory Language to Intricate Telecommunication Technologies. Rutgers Computer & Tech. L.J., 13, 451.

Dance, G. J., LaForgia, M., & Confessore, N. (2018). As Facebook raised a privacy wall, it carved an opening for tech giants. The New York Times, 18.

Jasper, S. E. (2017). U.S. cyber threat intelligence sharing frameworks. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 30(1), 53-65.

Sommer, J. H. (2000). Against cyberlaw. Berk. Tech. L.J., 15, 1145.

Terms And Conditions May Apply | Hyrax Films. (2019). Tacma.net. Retrieved 30 September 2019, from http://tacma.net/