- January 28 is World Data Protection Day
- These have been at the heart of several scandals.
- Their protection remains a major and complex issue.
January 28, a world day to raise awareness among the general public about the importance of data protection. It has been held every year since 2007. And the least we can do is keep it current. With the scandals of several companies, including the Cambridge Analytica case in 2018, the protection of personal data is always a central subject. These correspond to information enabling a person to be identified, directly or indirectly, such as name, first name, address, telephone number or a photo. They are the black gold of the digital economy, but individuals do not necessarily know how to protect them. Laws like the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) have nevertheless been put in place to regulate their collection.
Go back to those who did not follow. Entered into force in May 2018, the GDPR is a European text which redefines the rights of citizens and the obligations of companies with regard to personal data. It also covers sensitive data such as sexual preference, political orientation or ethnic origin, which may give rise to discriminatory practices. In addition to having access to their own data and being able to modify them, users also have the possibility of opposing their use.
With these scandals and these laws, have users decided to better protect their personal data?
The GDPR, a concrete solution?
Since the entry into force of the GDPR, the number of complaints addressed to national personal data protection authorities has increased considerably. In May 2019, the National Commission for Data Protection (CNIL) had received more than 11,900 complaints in one year. “With the GDPR, there is this obligation to notify all personal data breaches. There are many more scandals, we are much more aware than before if there are problems, "explains Zoé Vilain, Europe representative of Jumbo Privacy and associate lawyer at 1862 Avocats. She believes that the user is more in demand with regard to their data with this law and that people tend to wonder more about the data they provide and what companies do with it. On the other hand, the GDPR is not a concrete solution allowing users to protect their data for it: "It is quite indigestible so I am not sure that it gave good reading keys to the general public. "
On the other hand, some people think that they do not need to protect their data because they have nothing to hide. For whistleblower Edward Snowden, this is the same as saying that you don't care about freedom of expression because you have nothing to say.
Social networks, bad students
I know that my data is used, but I don't care: it is one of the two "movements" currently observed according to Zoé Vilain among Internet users. The other corresponds to the desire of some to monetize their data. The California Consurmer Privacy Act, the California equivalent of the GDPR that came into force on January 1, 2020, also creates a framework for selling personal data, which could create more inequalities. "How are we going to know that someone's private life is worth more than that of another?" "Explains the European representative of Jumbo Privacy.
Designed by Pierre Valade, Jumbo is an application whose objective is to offer users a simple way to manage and protect their privacy. It is thus possible to delete tweets from one day to three months ago on Twitter, to delete the search history on Google or the audio recordings made by Alexa. The contents are also stored on the phone. Almost everyone uses social networks today, but these services are the least protective of personal data as explained by Zoé Vilain. "We don't realize the effects, we think that the Internet is virtual whereas it is our real life now". In other words, it's like having someone who follows you all day on the street, and picks up the coins that you drop from your pockets.
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