Should politics get involved in keeping our information safe?

Most social media networks know more about you than most of your peers.We learned in the most recent chapter that if you have your location on, these networks track where you are and the location you are heading/going to. Yes most apps nowadays have the access to seeing your current location but it's mainly to personalize the advertisements it gives you. It seems like social media is mainly used as a place of entertainment. Social media , in my opinion, should be used more as a place to advertise charity events and donation/different fundings. I feel like something I can improve on as a social media user is share more of the go fund me accounts and less funny ignorant videos. “An open Internet is essential to the American economy, and increasingly to our very way of life,” wrote Obama. “By lowering the cost of launching a new idea, igniting new political movements, and bringing communities closer together, it has been one of the most significant democratizing influences the world has ever known.”

I know through Apple products, that if a app is wanting to use your current location it gives you the option to decline or accept. You are not being forced or tricked by anyone to have your location available through these apps 24/7. If the whole location thing frightens a user then they easily have the option to turn it off or delete the app. I believe that we are VERY much still in charge of the things we do through the internet. I feel that if you are wanting to keep certain information private then you keep it private by not sharing it online and through social media accounts. The decision to keep your information is mainly up to you. The government should stay out of social media accounts having access to certain things. The government can easily grasp our personal information with a click of a button- why would they need access to our social media information as well? Throughout all my social networking experience I have never been disappointed with the level of privacy provided. The only reason I ever turn off my location services is because it takes a lot of my battery power if it’s on all the time.

There are many ways to keep your information safe online; there are six helpful steps I found in one of my sources that will help with keeping your private information safe online.

Step one: Be Alert to Impersonators- Make sure you know who is getting your personal or financial information. Don’t give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet unless you’ve initiated the contact or know who you’re dealing with.

Step two: Safely Dispose of Personal Information- Before you dispose of a computer, get rid of all the personal information it stores.

Step three: Encrypt Your Data- Keep your browser secure. To guard your online transactions, use encryption software that scrambles information you send over the internet.

Step four: Keep Passwords Private- Use strong passwords with your laptop, credit, bank, and other accounts. Be creative: think of a special phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password.

Step five: Don’t Overshare on Social Networking Sites- If you post too much information about yourself, an identity thief can find information about your life, use it to answer ‘challenge’ questions on your accounts, and get access to your money and personal information. (i’ll come back to this step!)

Step six: Securing Your Social Security Number- Ask if you can use a different kind of identification. If someone asks you to share your SSN or your child’s, ask:
why they need it?
how it will be used?
how they will protect it?
what happens if you don’t share the number?
My sources are: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0272-how-keep-your-personal-information-secure
https://www.cheatsheet.com/politics/why-do-we-need-government-to-keep-the-internet-safe.html/

Personally- the only time I believe politics should get involved with our social media information is when there is possibly a harmful act that could occur or has already happened and needs to be investigated. If they are going to be having this access to our information it needs to be made completely clear to people what information is being collected and what is happening with this information. Know who you share your information with; store and dispose of your personal information securely.