From emails to names to birthdays, with so much of our information being online, we aren't immune to the risks of getting our private information exposed. Whether for a website, social media platform, or email subscription, most daily internet users don’t think twice before willingly handing out our data. But oftentimes, information about us can be compiled both directly and indirectly without our knowledge. Thus, with the perpetual expansion of the digital world, it remains crucial for all online users to be cautious of any personal information we could be giving out to minimize jeopardizing our privacy.  

Currently, most states don’t have any privacy laws that regulate how companies are allowed to utilize or share your online information with third parties. Without these enforcements, countless companies and organizations can amass an extensive amount of data about their users and profit off of selling those statistics to data brokers, who in turn can combine the data with public records of the user to create a comprehensive user profile, leveraging it in various ways from displaying personalized advertisements to accessing it for criminal activities such as identity fraud. Moreover, with the growing prominence of the internet in modern society, it becomes increasingly easier for many of these big corporations to abuse their positions to gain records upon records of their users without their consent, violating their privacy.

Over the years, breaches of private data have gradually escalated, with around 1,802 data compromises and over 420 million impacted individuals in the US in 2022. And with the establishment of the internet as a necessity in our lives, these numbers show no signs of decreasing anytime soon. In fact, experts predict higher risks of data breaches in the future, especially with the rise of AI systems. Despite the convenience of using these high-tech tools, we must also be wary of how these tools could be using us and our information. 

Additional problems arise when considering the recent saturation of social media user bases by young children. With so many younger generations being active online without proper cybersecurity and privacy education, kids are left vulnerable at an elevated security risk compared to adults. Just over the past few years, cybercrimes towards children have surged in online environments globally. Further, with multiple cases of social media companies like TikTok, Facebook, X (Twitter), Whatsapp, Youtube, and Instagram breaching user privacy and granting outside parties access to their data, these platforms pose severe threats to online user safety, especially to children who may be well unaware of these violations. Due to constant misconduct by popular social media companies, we must keep our youth educated on digital safety. 

While more state legislatures are starting to take action, their development of data privacy laws has progressed slowly thus far compared to the fast pace of privacy breaches. We still have a long way to go, as some states’ privacy laws remain inactive even after being introduced. However, with greater public attention and concern now being directed toward enhancing digital safety and protection, there is hope for improvement so long as we raise the standards companies must meet regarding user confidentiality. Even though complete privacy online may seem unrealistic, there are still many measures that we can take to mitigate serious online crimes and fraudulent activities. In the meantime, it appears we internet consumers must take it upon ourselves to protect our own integrity online. 

This article was edited by Grace Hur.