Protecting Your Digital Avatar

We live in a high-tech world, one where computing technology has diffused into virtually every aspect of human life in a relatively short amount of time. Consider that in less than a decade, we have seen the rapid evolution of social media from a mere curiosity to an indispensable tool for private and public expression. We have seen it transform social interactions around the globe, disrupt business and create entirely new industries. It has sparked the development of a sharing society and a world where privacy seems to becoming a thing of the past.

In an article written by Alladi Venkatesh, professor of Management and Informatics at the UCI Paul Merage School of Business, questions surrounding consumer privacy and security in the digital world are explored. Published by the Journal of the Association of Consumer Research, Social Media, Digital Self, and Privacy: A Socio-Analytical Perspective of the Consumer as the Digital Avatar implications of the social media explosion for consumer privacy. their private lives, photos, even their opinions, is published for all to see, share, even sell. Social media companies collect vast amounts of data capturing everything from political views and social dispositions to intimate personal preferences and details of consumer digital avatars. Databases are available that store and share this information, for a price, with marketing organizations, retail establishments, even the government and law enforcement. As more companies begin to monetize their data operations, the economic value of this information only increases. But what is concerning is the fact that much of the collected data is shared without the knowledge or consent of the consumer. Consider these recent headlines:

FTC Halts Operation that Unlawfully

Google now knows when its users go to

the store and buy stuff (The Washington Post, May 23, 2017)

ISPs can now collect and sell your data:

, (USA Today, , (Government Technology, March 10, 2017)

So, is there no place for privacy in the contemporary world?

It is doubtful the rate of digital transformation

by Anne Warde

will slow anytime soon, so we must consider how to protect our civil rights real time. We must explore ways to align our sharing society with the privacy laws of the land.

The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution reads:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Have consumers given up these rights? Or, more importantly, is digital privacy even covered by the Fourth Amendment?

If digital privacy is a civil right, should it be safeguarded by the public or private agencies that the responsibility for safeguarding information lie for their own privacy, the onus is on them to be mindful about what information they share either privately or publicly. However, consumers may not understand the extent to which they are sharing information when they interact via social media. Some may not even care.

As digital technologies evolve, consumer researchers must continue to examine these issues with greater vigilance and due deference to legalities and preservation of community standards if we are to preserve our right to privacy.

Alladi Venkatesh is professor of Management and Informatics at the UCI Paul Merage School of Business and a research affiliate of the Center for Digital Transformation. He is also Honorary Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. Professor Venkatesh’s research focuses on two areas: 1) The networked home and how consumers and households are adapting to new technologies of information and communication. 2) Markets and culture. The focus here is on how cultural issues shape markets and consumption behaviors and how value is created and nurtured via market dynamics and actions. He is known for his work on Ethnoconsumerism based on his field work on technology diffusion among Indian households.