IF YOU WANT YOUR PERSONAL DATA KEPT PRIVATE, DON’T PUT IT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

Whatever personal data you put on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and other social networks is out there for the whole world to see

By Howie Katz

Big Jolly Times
March 24, 2018

Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg have come under fire because Cambridge Analytica had obtained the personal data of over 50 million Facebook users and misused it to develop “psychographic” profiles which were used to help the Trump presidential campaign.

It is amazing what people put on social networks, and it isn’t just messages. Both men and women have sent pictures of their genitals to others by using social networks. One of the most notable cases is that of Anthony Weiner, a former congressman and husband of Hillary Clinton’s close aide Huma Abedin. Wienee waving Weiner was sent to prison for flashing his genitals to a 15-year-old girl on a social media site.

Once you’ve put any of your personal data on a social network, it’s there for the whole world to see. No matter what security steps social networks take, a hacker will still be able to gain access to your personal data.

A retired Texas state police lieutenant with more than 40 years of law enforcement experience told me that cops should not make any comments whatsoever on the internet because, according to him, criminal defense attorneys scan the internet to see if they can dig up any dirt on officers that may testify against their clients at trial.

Teachers and cops have lost their jobs for outrageous remarks they’ve made on social media. Political office holders have been forced to resign from their offices or face recall elections because of what they said on the internet. President Trump has left himself open to a backlash of criticism for what he said on some of his many tweets on Twitter.

Personally I’ve been described as a moron, as lacking in intelligence, as a liar, etc. for some of what I’ve posted on my blogs and on Big Jolly Times, and for comments I made on Grits for Breakfast in response to anti-police posts on that website. But you will find little personal data on anything I’ve written on the internet.

Cambridge Analytica has been denounced and is being investigated for criminally misusing the personal data of Facebook users. But Cambridge Analytica merely used data it readily obtained from Facebook to bolster the business it is engaged in.

I do not feel sorry for those 50 million Facebook users whose personal data may have been misused. They should have known better than to put it on that social network site or on any other such site.

Trump’s campaign may have benefited from the data Cambridge Analytica obtained. Hillary Clinton, who has successively blamed James Comey, WikiLeaks, the Russians and white men and their wives for her defeat, can now add Cambridge Analytica to that list.

Zuckerberg has apologized and promised to make the personal data of Facebook users secure. But that will not be easy to achieve. Hackers will always find some way of gaining access to Facebook accounts.

Call me a moron for not using Facebook or any other social network. And if you want your personal data kept private, don’t put it on a social network. Stick to your emails, but remember that your email account can also be hacked … so always be careful what you say. It’s out there and cannot really be erased.