How do you feel if someone unknowingly spies on your credit card number online?
Won’t it get on your nerves? It definitely would come out as a blast of impulsiveness. Nobody, actually, likes to keep a watch on what indeed is so sensitive. Today, almost every organization takes a sneak peek into your personal data. Online shopping or trading is trending. But, you can’t place an order without passing your details to the websites, like amazon, aliexpress, flipkart and many more. Alone amazon had 197 million visitors per month in 2017, according to the statista. The Wal-Mart trailed it with 127 million unique visitors during the similar year.

Now put on your thinking cap and predict, how much information they would have. The market research for the business intelligence emerges as a key performance indicator in the present scenario. But, it can’t be so sans data. This is why most of the market researchers delve into the data mining. They stack millions of data entries in their data warehouse. Its biggest example is Facebook. Although it is a social media channel, yet it invests on 5,000 data brokers.

Why is it so? Why does Mark Zuckerberg need more data?
The reason is its vitality and potential. The data analysts mine golden opportunities out of the collective data sets. If we look into the Facebook’s revenue, the whopping $27 billion would be found as its earning through advertising strategies in 2016. These are all drawn out of the gathered data.

Data Acquisition Fiasco:
Almost everyone lives in the fool’s paradise before the outburst of the CA (Cambridge Analytica) fiasco. Every FB user did not have any clue that his detail is churned out to make significant business decisions. All these blunders begin with a false interpretation of tech-based companies. They mouth off that their product is dirt cheap. But actually, it’s not free. You pay them, although not in dollars, but in data.

Facebook fiasco:It might be an untold fact, but the fiasco of CA brought it in the spotlight. It indeed was not an excuse of Mark (the FB owner) because it was Kogan, who came with the app called ‘its mydigitallife’. It ran an online survey that was meant to deliver to the CA.

However, FB allows in-app experience for improving its functionality for the users. Alexander Kogan (a Russian-American Academic) took leverage out of this policy. When approximately 80 million users authorized an access to their FB account, the app took away their data. FB’s Zuckerberg called it a case of ‘an unauthorized acquisition of data’. He didn’t sell the data chunks to monetize. But, the third party (CA) used it to derive monitory benefit. If the questionnaire ought to read as ‘your information may be used for commercial purpose’, Zuckerberg might not appear in a negative role.

Meanwhile, the CA used users’ details for building tools to target voters. Understanding their identity & behavior was no big deal. Subsequently, an online campaign was drafted on the basis of the so-called psychographic modeling. It benefitted Donald Trump to win the US presidential election.

FB removed that app on being informed about its malicious attempts in 2015. But, its aftermath quizzed Zuckerberg. Dozens of communities have left it.

YouTube fiasco:
More than 20 Consumer groups lodged a complaint with federal officials (US). They found this product of Google indulged in unethical practice. The appellant groups noticed that YouTube failed to abide by the rules of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

The aforesaid act mandates to obtain consent of the parents before extracting kid’s data. It has defined 13 or more as the age limit of the YouTube users. If the user is younger than this age, he/she can access YouTube Kids App. It shows the filtered videos that are fit for the under-age kids.

Its privacy policy amplifies that it prohibits interest-based advertising or re-marketing on the YouTube Kids’ app. But in reality, it collects the data from this app and draws a blueprint of targeting accordingly.

Launch of GDPR:
• Who implemented GDPR?
On seeing the disruptive nature of data violation, the EU (European Union) has decided to strictly implement the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It was conceived two years ago. But now, the necessity has made it to follow strictly. It would come into effect from May 2018 formally.

• Why?
The surging up cases of breaching emerged as a mother of this regulation. It would put the barrier on the roads that bridge the data to the data services providers (likedata entry service providers, data miners and researchers). The European Union is its origin. But, its impact would be seen far beyond the borders.

• What does it do?
The GDPR safeguards the privacy of the user’s data. It defines a global standard of privacy and confidentiality. This law will fasten the noose around the app owner who illicitly exploits the users’ data. The rephrased structure of the previous Governing Data Protection (1995) protects user name, his/her email id, number, location, IP address, cookies and other digital fingerprints.

What policies are made?
• The data subjects (individuals whose data are) would have right to know which companies are collecting data and why. It would ensure transparency in using one’s personal data.
• The consent of the data subjects would be a must.
• If the data subjects want to delete their data, they would have that right.
• If the data is hacked, the data subjects must be informed about it within 72 hours of disclosure. If it doesn’t happen, the infringer may be penalized with $1.6 billion or 4 percent of his annual revenue.
• Obtaining parental consent would be compulsory if the data subject is under 16.

Coppa Rule for YouTube:
The Coppa or Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (1998) was expanded in 2012 by the Federal officials. The disruptive use of mobile phones led to this amendment. According to the revamped regulation for the YouTube,
• The data mining company shall take the consent of the parents before using the identity, contact and location of the child. They can be the photos of the kids, videos, audios and mobile location.
• The privacy terms of YouTube service straightforwardly states that it is strictly for the 13 and above users. It also defines how a company collects it to tailor an ad.