About the author Brett Dunst is the Vice President of Corporate Communications at DreamHost. Every day a new headline reminds us that keeping our sensitive data online is a constant struggle. The ongoing controversies involving Facebook and other social networking sites only reinforce this point. It has become very common to hear about security breaches involving organizations with access to our personal data – organizations that we have never heard of before! How did we come here? History shows that we have come a long way in a short time and reminds us that fundamental principles are not lacking. History also reminds us that our attitude towards online privacy and the way we try to control it has evolved. So where does the next evolution take us? We have ideas.
1) Encryption will become the new standard.
Encryption is a big tent. This includes everything from the hash that protects passwords to the algorithms that guarantee the authenticity of digital signatures. Whatever the form, encryption is the tech industry's attempt to address various data privacy and security issues. In the future, expect all web traffic to be encrypted by default. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers display highly visible warnings for users connecting to sites that do not use HTTPS. With multiple parties—ISPs, advertisers, scammers, spammers, and law enforcement agencies, among others—monitoring virtually every user's actions online, encryption is no longer just about login pages. One thing to note: Since this encryption initiative will be led by engineers and developers employed by tech giants, you may ask whose interests they serve. Does Apple's strong stance on end-to-end encryption, for example, reflect its desire to protect its customers from mass surveillance? Or is it really a €1 trillion company investing more to prevent some parties from knowing too much about how they do business? Whatever the answer, Internet users can only benefit from the default use of encryption, even if they are unaware of the methods used on their behalf.
2) The regulation arrives.
This is already starting. Lawmakers have taken steps to end some of the data-collection practices that have allowed Silicon Valley's rich and powerful to do just that. The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), known by most Americans as the "new cookie policy law", aims to obtain permission to collect personal data from web users and to take control of it. Users from whom it is collected. California's consumer privacy law, considered by many to be a precedent, goes further by preventing denial of services to those who choose not to participate in the data collection and monetization economy. At the same time, Maine and New York are considering bills similar to those adopted in California. Persistent concerns related to the unauthorized disclosure of user information, particularly location data, have prompted calls for federal legislation. Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed a landmark fine on Facebook for the social network's role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the agency's jurisdiction remains limited. American citizens are beginning to question the need for government intervention in online privacy, and elected officials are listening. Regulation is not about if, but when, how much and how much it will affect the current balance of power.
3) Users will demand more control over their data.
These conflicting feelings you have about social media? You're Not Alone According to the Pew Research Center, just over half of Americans don't trust that social networking sites are doing what they should to protect their personal information. But Pew also finds that, despite their reservations, Americans are still using social media as often as ever, with 74% of Facebook users visiting the site daily. Behind these statistics, however, are evolving behaviors that herald a future in which users are more aware of how their online business translates to data, and that companies are beginning to take notice. In this age of heightened awareness of data collection practices, it's not surprising that the concept of "data minimalism" has gained traction in the technology sector. The philosophy is simple: collect only the data necessary to provide products and services (be transparent about it) and return fair market value to those who wish to exchange their data with you. In short, data minimalism places an emphasis on maintaining trust, not aggregating a maximum of user information to create predictive models. . If this trust is breached, will users have the ability to permanently delete or revoke access to their data? Going forward, the answer is probably "yes." This is because the future of privacy is one in which users' ownership of personal data is built into the very infrastructure of the Internet. In general, the future of data privacy seems to be much less responsive and much more proactive. Consumers will be better informed about the issues and won't wait for the next shameful data breach to take action to protect their personal data. It will also be a time when cooperation will link current technologies with concrete policies. a system in which everything from federal regulations to corporate terms and conditions will take into account the privacy implications of users and respect the consequences. For all those who have seen their data exposed or exploited by a bad actor, this future can't happen soon enough. Brett Dunst is the Vice President of Corporate Communications at DreamHost.