Data Privacy Day: Let's Make It Something to Celebrate

Today is the second annual Data Privacy Day, an international holiday "devoted to spotlighting computer privacy and protection issues." While Data Privacy Day is only two years old, warnings about online privacy have been popping up since 2000. Nearly a decade later, articles are still being published warning users about old and new risks to privacy online–and how we can protect ourselves.

After all these years, wouldn't it be nice if these articles did not need publishing? If the privacy settings were so user-friendly that everybody knew how to protect their information? If privacy was the default setting, so that we didn't have to worry about "forgetting" to check that box and revealing personal information? If we had complete control of our personal information and data at all times, instead of having to be warned year after year of what will happen if we don't have the "right" privacy settings?

Let's make this Data Privacy Day the one where these worries begin fading. It's about time that businesses change privacy controls to be easy -to-use and to have privacy as the default setting. Demand your privacy and businesses will comply!

Make Privacy Controls User-Friendly

Privacy settings are extremely difficult to navigate on most websites. You have to click here, check-mark there, understand different lingo for each site. Companies need to make a big change–they need to make it so their users can easily change the level of privacy on personal pages.

You, the user, can convince companies to make this change. They want to keep you as their user. Take advantage of this and demand easy to understand privacy settings.

Make Privacy the Default

The default setting on many sites is not one that protects privacy. Facebook's default setting includes everybody in your network, including your friends. A major city, like San Francisco, has upwards of 440,000 users in its Facebook network. Do you really want over 440,000 strangers seeing your Facebook page?

Social networking and other file sharing sites need to change the default setting to the highest level of privacy. If only you can see your profile by default (at least until you connect with friends), you have the chance to build the level of openness that you want for your page.

The combination of easy-to-use privacy controls and strong default privacy settings will give the user, you, the ability to know who exactly is seeing the information you post online.

Take Control over Your Personal Information: Celebrate Data Privacy Day every day!

The greater the control you have over your online and social networking privacy, the more you can express yourself freely without wondering who is going to see what you have to say. Personal information can become truly personal again (even if that concept of personal includes 400 of your closest friends). You, the user, should have complete control over who sees your profile or gets access to your data.

For now, you do need to learn how to use the privacy tools that exist – and Data Privacy Day is a great effort to inform users about that. But you can do more. Tell the sites that you use that you want easy-to-use privacy controls and strong privacy by default. Tell your representatives that your privacy matters. And keep yourself informed by visiting our blog, Bytes and Pieces, by learning more about online privacy from the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the ACLU's Privacy and the Internet page. And sign up for our email list to receive more information about our ongoing efforts to promote stronger privacy practices online.

Work with us to demand change so that Data Privacy Day becomes a celebration of data privacy instead of a warning!