The trust we should / shouldn’t have with Big Companies

Introduction

The purpose of this blog post is not to persuade you to trust or not trust companies like google, amazon, and facebook. The purpose is to give you enough facts, on the subject of data collection, that you are able to make an informed opinion of your own. Although the common belief is that we can’t trust these companies, there is no evidence that backs this up. On the other hand, there is no evidence claiming that we can trust these companies. I have researched this topic, inside and out, and have compiled the evidence for both sides into this research paper. I have learned stories of companies stealing data; I have researched all the stealing capabilities of smart speakers and the reasons everyone is so nervous to have them in their homes. 

Why this topic?

The topic of online privacy and companies collecting our data is one of the most important topics of today. These big companies are our life and we can’t live it without them. In an article titled, “The Data Big Tech Companies Have on You,” it helps to explain the importance of this topic by saying, “We use Google so often that it’s almost hard to think of as a set of products and services. Personally, I think of it more like a way of life, a tool that has an impact on nearly all of my daily decisions, like which subway I should take to get to work the fastest, what’s the best place to get my boots repaired, or even what a random woman I went to college with is doing at this very second.” This quote shows how Google and other big companies are viewed by most people. They are simply, “… a way of life,” and there is no getting away from that. To live without them would simply not be possible. Because of the importance and the role they play in our lives, we need to learn the truth of whether or not we can trust them. Once we learn the truth of google, amazon, and other big companies, we can decide what changes need to be made and take action to implement those changes.

How companies collect data through Google

The first step to figuring out whether we can trust big companies is learning how they collect our data. From my digital marketing class, I have learned the basics of collecting data and how most companies do it. There are lots of ways that you can collect data like simply asking your customers or users to give it to you through something like a form. Another way that companies collect data is through Google. Google has made lots of different tools that help with collecting data and any company has access to them. In an article titled, “What Does Google Do With My Data?,” it states, “ Nearly every company you interact with online uses web tracking technology to mine data about your online habits and preferences to personalize your experiences and the content you see.” The web tracking technology that this quote talks about are these tools that google has produced. One of these “tools” are google analytics. This tool shows companies when customers are on their website, how long they stayed there, what page they came from and lots of other data like this. In my marketing class we have used these many tools, like google analytics, to market to people and get our product in front of them. Although we are able to collect lots of different data from these websites they don’t allow us access to more personal data unless the user specifically gives it to us. 

Smart speakers don’t actually listen to us

One of the biggest rumors or worries when it comes to how companies collect data is smart speakers like Amazon Alexa, Google home, and Siri. After lots of research I have come to the conclusion that these speakers are not as scary as they are made out to be. In the same article title, “What Does Google Do With My Data?,” it says, “In particular, people worry about voice-activated products like Google Home and Google Assistant being used to listen to more than just requests to buy toilet paper or play music in the living room.” Right after this they say, “While the security risks of smart home devices are real, Google using your home assistant to record your private conversations isn’t one of them. You might feel like you’re being spied on, but the reality is that Google sees only the information you have voluntarily entered or allowed them to access.” This quote goes right along with what I have said previously that, “they don’t allow us access to more personal data unless the user specifically gives it to us.” This can help us to trust these companies and put our worries aside knowing that unless we give google or any other big company permission and access to our personal information, they cannot access it.

Or do they. . .

Although these smart speakers aren’t used to collect our personal information, the security risks that are involved with them are endless. A scholarly article that is titled, “She Knows Too Much – Voice Command Devices and Privacy,” addresses all of these risks and was written to make people aware of the risks involved with smart speakers. In the abstract of the article it says, “This paper demonstrates that a typically configured Echo device can prove to be a vulnerable channel by which personal information may be accessed.” This sets up the rest of the article that explains all of these vulnerable channels. One of the first points that this article makes is that, “When users purchase, configure and utilize these devices they are subscribing to a much larger and extremely profitable phenomenon.” This phenomenon that they are talking about is later explained when they say, “Even more valuable than the profit from the sale of these devices, is the profit from the information that is harvested and sold to other various entities.” This statement is very concerning knowing that these devices can be used by the big parent companies to collect and then sell to other companies. It is sad to know that these smart speaker companies could and may possibly use us for money and have no care for the ethical barrier that they are breaking. Although these devices can be used to collect and distribute very personal data, there are settings that you can adjust to make it so you can have better data privacy. Along with increasing your data privacy through the settings the article states, “In the future these devices may become more sophisticated and discerning about what information they share and with who; however, for the moment a simple question asked within a earshot will have them singing like a bird!” This quote is basically saying that currently it is easy for smart speakers to collect our information but in the future there will be innovations that will increase the amount of privacy that we have and will help give comfort knowing that companies cannot use us to sell and profit off of our personal information.

How much data Google collects

Now that we know the main source that supplies big companies with data from their users is google, we need to know how much data google actually collects and if any of it would make Google untrustworthy. To say it plainly, google is in fact “spying” on us. In a quote from the same article it says, “Is Google really spying on me? The simple answer is yes: Google collects data about how you use its devices, apps, and services.”(Sidell). From this quote you can clearly see that Google is in fact collecting data about us, that much is obvious; but the true concern is exactly what data they collect. In another online article by the name of, “The Data Big Tech Companies Have On You”, it has a list of all the big companies including Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and their acceptance policy. In this paragraph we are going to focus specifically on Google. In the section about google they state, “Out of all the companies on this list, Google collects and stores most of your information by far.”(Vigderman and Turner). This makes sense knowing that they are the distributor of data to the other companies. After this, they list all of the data that google collects. These include: name, phone number, payment information, email address, emails you write and receive, stored videos and photos, stored documents, stored spreadsheets and youtube comments. This may seem like a lot of information that they collect but, there’s also information they don’t collect.. This includes: username, password, address, social security number, driver’s license number, metadata of photos and files, and contact info from devices. From this you can form your own opinion of whether you trust google or not. Personally, I feel that the data they collect is data that isn’t too personal and is a reasonable amount to allow companies to market to their customers.

How much data Facebook collects

Now that we know what data google collects, we are going to look at data that other big companies, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, collect. First we will look at Facebook. The authors, Vigderman and Turner, ranked Facebook as grade C which is not near as bad as Google who was ranked as grade F. The reason behind ranking Facebook as C is because the only data that they collect is what the user does while on the social platform. The article states, “Facebook knows exactly when you log on, for how long you’re logged in, and what comments, shares, and transactions you’ve made in that time.” After this quote, the authors explain that the acceptance policy goes into detail about what specific data this quote is talking about. It states that the data they collect in the “activity” portion includes: networks/ connections, messages, content, videos watched, views and Interactions with content and ads, time, frequency and duration of activity, and the people you communicate/ share content with. Along with this, they also collect personal data. This data includes: name, phone number, payment information, email address, stored videos, and stored photos. The reason they collect your name, phone number, payment information, and email address is for your profile. They save the other data, videos and photos, for posts. All of the data that they collect and save seems reasonable and is data that they would need to save in order to run correctly. This causes us to have no need to worry about our information being unethically used and collected.

How much data Amazon collects

The next company that we are going to focus on is Amazon. Amazon was given a B- grade which means amazon doesn’t collect a whole lot of data from their users. Although they may not collect a lot of data, the data they do collect can startle you. In article called, “The Data Big Tech Companies Have On You,” it says this, “ Aside from obvious data like the products you search for and order, the videos you’ve watched, your wish lists, product reviews, phone number, address, and more, Amazon also keeps track of your IP address, browser type, and other automatic information.” Your IP address is where your computer was set up for the first time. If this doesn’t scare you then the data that they collect while you use amazon on mobile will. Vigderman and Turner, the authors of this article, say this, “If you’re on mobile, they’ll see exactly where you’re located, as well as collecting your data from your mobile carrier, third parties, and your credit history cleaned from the credit bureaus.” In the acceptance policy under the personal information category, it says that they collect name, username, password, phone number, payment information, address, social security number, drivers license number, and your email address. This data is obviously data that is not needed in order to better their services or market specific products for your needs. The amount of information that they collect and how personal that information is will scare anyone. Even if amazon does not use this data, it is still in their database which means that if someone is good enough, they can hack in and steal all of that information. Amazon is a company that we need to watch and make sure that they do not use this information for anything other than marketing purposes. Along with the data that seems too personal to collect, amazon does collect data that they use for marketing. This data includes search terms, videos watched, purchase activity, reviews, and browsing history. It makes sense that they collect this information. Although we may not like the data that amazon is collecting from us, when we click “I accept” to their terms and services, we agree to these terms and to them collecting this data. We should all be more careful when signing up for and using these big companies.

How much data Apple collects

The last company that we are going to look at is apple. This is one that I am most interested to know about because of how much I use apple products. The computer that I am writing this essay on is a mac, the phone that I use everyday is an iphone, and the tv I watch is through apple tv. Apple is mine and many other people’s way of life, we couldn’t survive without it. The first thing said about Apple in this article is, “Apple is known as the best large tech company for privacy, and their policy definitely confirmed that. And that’s fortunate because I frankly can’t imagine my life without their products.” Apparently the authors are in the same boat as I and can’t get through life without apple products. We also learn through this quote that Apple is one of the most trustworthy companies when it comes to user data. After this, the article states, “Apple collects your personal information like your name, email address, IP address, location, and payment information. They also keep track of obvious things like your language, zip code, search queries (although they won’t be associated with your IP address), and how you use their devices and apps.” This data that Apple is collecting is reasonable and is data that they would need in order to improve and update their products. In the acceptance policy under the personal information category it says that Apple collects your name, phone number, payment information, address, and the emails you write and receive. Along with this data, under the activity and location categories Apple collects search terms, time, frequency and duration of activity, time zone, and GPS. All of that information that Apple collects is information that they need in order for their devices to run and is information that I would be comfortable sharing. 

The fine line of data collection

A recent update that Apple has done in the past month was an update to protect your browsing history from being collected by companies. This update will help to make our information more secure and helps us to trust Apple even more. We learned about the update in my digital marketing class and my instructor said, “As a user the update is amazing but from a marketing perspective this update restricts what we can do.” My instructor is a perfect way to show the balance that is needed between allowing companies enough data to marketing but not too much where it becomes uncomfortable. We need to be aware that if we hide all of our data from companies and don’t allow them any information about their users, they won’t be able to make the necessary changes to their products and services that allow us to get what we want. It would also make it impossible to find anything that we are looking for online because there would be no targeting. There is a fine line between keeping our data private and allowing companies the data they need to better our experiences.

Why companies collect our data

Moving into the point of companies using our data to help them better our experience, the next topic that we are going to cover is why companies collect our data and what they do with it. In my digital marketing class we learn all about how to use customer data to market and put our product in front of the right people. In order to do this, we need customer data to know which people will like what product. This is how big companies use your data. They try to find the right people to market their product to. Google takes all of their users data and sorts them into categorie. These categories can be based on location, gender, age, and many other different factors. Companies assess their product and figure out which one of these categories work best with their product. They then use the tools that google and other companies provide to target those specific categories and put their product in front of the users. Some of the ways they put the product in front of users is through video ads, pop-ups, and shopping ads. That is why when you make a search for a product the rest of your searches have ads for that type of product. Google knows from your search history that you had interest in that product so they put that product in front of you. It’s all to make finding products that you need and want easier for the user. Instead of having to search for those wanted products, they come to you. The entire goal of marketing is to find and target a niche group of people who, when they see your product, will more than likely purchase it. From the user side of things, this helps to find products that we need and want.

Why does Google collect our information if they aren’t selling a product?

Most companies use user information collected from google to help sell their product; what does google do with user information since they are the parent company who distributes all user information to other companies? I found an article that talks all about google and what they do with the information that they collect besides distributing it to other companies. This article titled “What Does Google Do With My Data?” sums it up in two sentences by saying, “According to Google, they use all this data to deliver better services, make improvements, and customize your experience. In other words, all this information helps Google make its services more useful for you.” From this we learn that google uses all of that information to better our experience and innovate their products to be more likable by us. Later in the article it states, “With all the data Google gathers about you — across all of its platforms, services, products, and devices — it can build a detailed advertising profile, including your gender, age range, job industry, and interests. This helps them use targeted advertising to serve you Google ads that align with your personal tastes.” This is another reason for google to collect your data. It is to help put products that interest you, from companies, cross platform, in front of your screen so that you can find stuff you didn’t even know you needed. Other than the demographical data that google collects about you, they also can track your location if you allow them to. In that same article it says, “Google uses your location to offer personalized suggestions that are more relevant to your situation.”(Sidell). Google uses your location information to make suggestions for restaurants near you or the fastest way to get to where you’re going. Another way Google uses your data, according to this article, is, “Google uses all the data it collects to improve usability.” Our data is used to improve the ease of using Google’s tools. The last way this article says that Google uses our data is to find trends. It says, “You can see the most popular search terms from multiple countries and languages, helping you discover the latest trends, topics, and stories across different regions and over different time periods.” Google uses our data lots of different ways and can accomplish and produce lots of data with our information. This article says, “Of course, there’s a very thin line between useful and creepy — and sometimes businesses make the mistake of taking it too far by hoovering up excessive amounts of data” There is in fact a very thin line that companies should follow between collecting too much data and enough to help better the users experience. We need to put enough trust into these companies and give them enough information to allow them to improve their websites on tools. We also need to be aware of all of the data that they collect and make sure that they are not crossing the line and over collecting.

The rules to collecting data

Lots of people don’t know about the rules companies have to follow in order to collect user data. This causes them to have no trust in the companies believing that there is no protection at all. Article 9 of the GDPR, which is an organization that makes the laws on how and what data is collected by companies, is a list of reasons or situations that allow companies to collect our information. These situations include: if the user gives consent, conducting scientific or historic data collection, collecting information to improve the society, and several different medical situations. Aside from these laws, there are also first amendment laws that help to protect our privacy. An old scholarly article titled, “UC Davis Law Review” which was produced by a college from california has lots of information about the first amendment and how it affects our privacy. This article says, “In fact, what Facebook is doing is political  speech.Urging someone to go and vote is core political speech; 42 indeed, it is about as central to the core  of the First Amendment as anything else.” This quote is talking about how facebook targets people and urges them to vote. Lots of people are upset with facebook doing this. This article, however, states that this is protected by the first amendment right. If this event is covered, it means that other companies putting products in front of our face and urging us to take action is covered by this same law.

Third party sharing. Should we trust companies?

We have laws that protect the collecting part of our data but how do we know that companies aren’t going to share our data to untrustworthy companies. Luckily I have found an article that will help put our worries to rest. This article is titled, “The Ethical Use of Data” and is written by Rick Grinnel who is the owner of a successful company. In the first paragraph it says, “We spend billions of dollars every year as an industry to protect our data, and that of our customers, employees and other stakeholders. Laws like GDPR and CCPA are designed to address privacy loss due to data compromise. These are all good things. We want to stop the theft and misuse of personal information, putting the identities, finances and overall well-being of innocent people and organizations at risk.” This first paragraph of the article is enough to put anyone who is worried about their privacy at ease. Knowing that companies spend billions of dollars just to protect our data shows that they truly care about keeping our data safe. Another article that talks about this is titled, “The Value of Strong Ethical Business Practices and Social Responsibility.” This article is on a website full of articles written to help business owners and is from the perspective of one. Audra Bianca, the author of this article, says, “Increase customer trust through transparency, such as by publishing ethical guidelines on your website and requiring ethical training yearly from staff.” This quote lets us know that good companies care about being ethical when working with data. Both of these examples are from a CEO’s point of view and show us that we should have no worries with most of the companies online.

The internet is not the most trustworthy source

Although I have researched across the entire web and found several articles from both perspectives on the topic of data collection and trusting big companies, we have no idea if the data that we are shown in these articles are true. We also don’t know if these companies are hiding exactly why, how, and what they are collecting. We just have to trust the data that we can see and what experts in the field say about that topic. There are lots of people who are on the far side of either trusting companies with whatever data they ask for and there are also people who are the opposite and won’t even own a phone. There is a fine balance between these two and we need to be aware of that line. It may come as a surprise but most of the companies that we are interacting with everyday are using our data purely for marketing and have no interest in knowing about our personal lives. Google is an exception to the amount of data that companies should be allowed to collect because they are a distributor of data to lots of companies. We need to trust big companies and allow them enough data for them to improve and market to us. We also need to make sure that we don’t give them information freely like our personal information. There is no escaping the online world so we need to learn how to trust putting our information in it. I’m not saying to hand out your information to anyone who asks for it online but I’m asking you to consider putting more trust into these companies knowing that they are using it to help us.