Online Privacy Protection Research Articles

Minors’ online privacy disclosure and protection behaviors: a systematic review

ABSTRACT The invasion of minors’ online privacy has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Examining the disclosure and protection behaviours of minors about online privacy provides a theoretical basis for the development of educational activities aimed at safeguarding minors’ privacy. This study utilised visual analysis tools and content analysis of literature to systematically map out the research hotspots and evolution in this field. The findings revealed that (1) research in this area is thriving and interdisciplinary, (2) existing studies primarily focus on minors aged 12–18 and their active privacy disclosure behaviour in social media and other scenarios, as well as key influencing factors, (3) these studies not only examine the influence of minors themselves but also the influence of parents and peers on minors’ online privacy behaviours, and (4) most minors adopt avoidance strategies such as privacy settings and alternative websites to protect their online privacy. Further research could expand the research context, resolve controversial factors, use multiple methods, and explore additional privacy behaviours. This literature review plays a crucial role in generating academic discourse and provides valuable insights for developing privacy protection policies tailored to minors.

An Exploration of College Students Online Privacy Protection Awareness and Behavior in the Social Media Era

Taking online privacy protection of college students in the social media era as an entry point, the study explored the current situation of college students use of social media platforms, their awareness and behavior of online privacy protection, as well as the influencing factors through questionnaire surveys and data analysis. The study found that most college students do not pay enough attention to online privacy protection, and there is a high risk of privacy leakage. Factors affecting college students awareness and behavior of online privacy protection include social media platform characteristics, personal factors, and social and cultural environments. In response to these problems, countermeasure suggestions such as strengthening the platform privacy protection function, enhancing college students privacy protection education, and improving self-protection awareness are put forward, with a view to providing reference for building a safe and harmonious online social environment.

Does online privacy self-efficacy help promote e-participation for rights protection?

This paper focuses on the relationship between internet users’ online privacy self-efficacy and e-participation behaviour, which merits in-depth study but remains underexplored in the literature. Drawing upon a representative sample of Chinese citizens, this paper finds that online privacy self-efficacy is positively associated with e-participation for rights protection. Instrumental variable (IV) estimation and the propensity score matching (PSM) method are used to address concerns about endogeneity problems and self-selection bias. We also find that individuals’ perceptions of internet empowerment positively influence the relationship between online privacy self-efficacy and e-participation frequency. This paper proposes that the government further optimizes the online environment and improves internet users’ knowledge and skills related to online privacy protection to strengthen citizens’ orderly online participation.

Use of Digital Platforms Among University Students: A Systematic Literature Review

Digital platforms have a high potential for supporting learning processes, especially in higher education. However, there appears to be a limited systematic review of research on the application of digital platforms in higher education. Using a systematic approach, this study analyzes previous research on digital platforms and how these technologies assist university students in their studies and the challenges involved. Examining 76 relevant articles from Scopus, Emerald Insight and ProQuest databases, the findings demonstrate that students' personal development could be accelerated by the practical application of technology through digital learning platforms. Furthermore, by utilizing digital channels, the COVID-19 epidemic has highlighted how crucial strategic management and flexibility are to the higher education sector. The study identified two main themes: digital platforms that support students’ learning and challenges associated with the deployment of digital platforms. Various unexplored areas on the use of digital platforms among university students are highlighted in the study. The review further recommends higher education institutions to offer digital literacy programs that educate students and faculty on using digital platforms, online privacy and data protection.

Predicting online privacy protection for Facebook users with an extended theory of planned behavior

ABSTRACT The current research uses an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model to predict Facebook users’ (N = 376) intentions to protect their privacy online. It aims to replicate and extend Saeri et al. (2014) who found partial support for an extended TPB model that included descriptive norms, perceived risk, and trust. Facebook users completed an online questionnaire assessing attitudes, norms (subjective and group), perceived behavioral control (PBC), perceived risk, trust, privacy concerns, and intentions to protect their privacy online. Results revealed that attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC (i.e. the TPB) predicted online privacy intentions, as well as descriptive group norms and privacy concerns. However, perceived risk, trust, and injunctive group norms were not significant unique predictors of online privacy intentions. The implications for understanding influences on individuals’ willingness to protect their privacy online are discussed.

The Guardian of the Digital Era: Assessing the Impact and Challenges of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

This paper provides a comprehensive examination of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the United States, tracing its historical evolution since its enactment in 2000. The analysis encompasses key amendments, legal challenges, and adaptive changes made to COPPA, shedding light on its impact on safeguarding children’s online privacy. Assessing both the positive effects and challenges faced by COPPA, the study explores its influence on online platforms, businesses, and advertisers. Furthermore, the paper discusses the legislation’s adaptability in response to emerging issues, including technological advancements and critiques, and examines potential future developments needed to enhance its effectiveness. The conclusion synthesizes key findings, highlighting the broader implications for the protection of children’s online privacy and suggesting areas for further research.

Sharenting as a regulatory paradox – a comprehensive overview of the conceptualization and regulation of sharenting

Abstract The present study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the conceptualization and regulation of sharenting, a new media phenomenon strongly intertwined with the online sphere. Through a comprehensive literature review and legal analysis, the article analyses a wide array of academic sources, case studies, and sources of law to understand the polemics and implications of sharenting. The study provides a systemic overview of sharenting definitions to provide a synchronized concept. A significant portion of the research is dedicated to a comparative legal analysis of international regulations. The article examines the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, and the European General Data Protection Regulation to assess their effectiveness in addressing the issues related to sharenting. Findings reveal that while these regulations provide some protection, they often fall short in fully safeguarding children’s digital identities from the risks associated with sharenting. To opt for a more activist approach, the article concludes with 17 recommendations aimed at both parents and policymakers. These recommendations include practical steps for parents to protect their children’s privacy online and suggestions for policymakers to enhance existing regulatory frameworks.

The Myth of Children’s Online Privacy Protection

Digital technology has changed the landscape young people face as they come of age. It has changed how children interact with their parents, schools, community organizations, and the state. Despite many benefits, digital technologies that employ data collection, algorithms, and artificial intelligence pose significant risks for the next generation. Private businesses can collect, use, and sell a child’s data in ways never imagined by their families. Information collected by third parties with good intentions can be stolen through data breaches. Through faulty algorithms, websites can make inaccurate assumptions about young people’s interests, teachers can make inaccurate assumptions about a student’s potential achievement, and the state can make inaccurate assumptions about a child’s risk to engage in criminal activity. It can also feed young people information that is harmful to their physical or psychological well-being. Meanwhile, current efforts in the United States that promise to protect children online threaten to undermine their right to privacy. United States federal and state laws are ill-equipped to truly offer children online privacy protections. There are few legal remedies available to young people whose data is used in malicious ways. The remedies that do exist are insufficient to simultaneously safeguard children while respecting privacy as young people mature. To that end, this Article seeks to explore how current laws centered on children’s online protection are inadequate, and why the obsession with keeping young people safe online often curtails their need for agency and autonomy. It offers a cogent path forward to guide federal and state policymakers as they update children’s online privacy protection law.

Navigating Online Privacy: Insights from Cybersecurity Expert

A study demonstrates that ICT users' frequent online privacy concerns are not always reflected in their online activity. It is yet unclear if those with knowledge of cybersecurity and online privacy would exhibit comparable discrepancies between their worries and their behaviors, despite the fact that the majority of the study focuses on average users. Twenty cybersecurity and privacy professionals were subsequently polled about their opinions on mobile application privacy. It was discovered that these specialists, despite having extensive technical knowledge, had attitudes and actions that were similar to those of common users. In this article, three important aspects of online privacy are discussed, including the experience, understanding, and assessment of privacy online, as well as the differences between fundamental and pragmatic approaches to privacy online. This discussion is from the perspective of a cybersecurity expert and is based on structured interviews with five cybersecurity experts. Although this study has its limits, the findings offer insightful information and useful suggestions for people and businesses to safeguard their online privacy, indicating that online privacy protection should be a top concern for all parties engaged in the use and management of online data.

A Discussion of TikTok’s Disregard of UK and US Child Data Policies

Children, being among the most vulnerable, require the most protection. While laws have been enacted to protect their physical well-being, many online companies have fallen short of ensuring proper usage of children's online data. The United Kingdom and the United States have taken an offensive stance on the matter by establishing their privacy policies aimed at protecting children online. The popular app TikTok has been flagged for security risks involving inadequate parental consent, unreasonable data collection, and data transference. This presentation will discuss US and UK child data privacy regulations and how companies can learn from TikTok’s failure to comply. The first privacy concerns of TikTok surfaced in 2020, resulting in several nations discussing restrictions on the app and banning it as a whole. More recently, TikTok has been facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in the UK regarding the breach of data protection regulations for children. These are not the only allegations the parent company, ByteDance, has faced concerning safeguarding children and their data. TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, also owned by ByteDance, was sued in 2018 for violating the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). With more child users than ever, social media companies like TikTok are obligated to create a safe online environment.

Online Platform Privacy Policies

In January 2021, Meta (then Facebook) published an update to its WhatsApp privacy policy which included, among other things, a decision to share some user data with Facebook. This action, together with previous events like the notorious Cambridge-Analytica data breach, has sparked debates about the protection of online privacy, specifically the balance of rights and responsibilities relevant to the protection of social media user data. This qualitative study contributes to that debate by exploring the perceptions and reactions of South African WhatsApp users to these policy changes. The findings highlight the significance of platforms like WhatsApp in the daily socio-economic activities of users in developing countries. This reliance on social media for communication and access to vital information creates an imbalance of power between users and platform owners. The situationis worsened by the lack of effective regulatory frameworks that governments and institutions in developing countries can use to enforce their privacy laws, leaving users vulnerable to potential exploitation from digital platforms. This study contributes to the broader discourse on safeguarding online privacy as Western technology companies continue to gain access to data that is generated by an ever-increasing global user base.

Foreign experience of personal data protection in social networks

The article analyzes the protection of personal data based on foreign experience. Social networking has been identified as one of the most prominent cultural phenomena to emerge in the Web 2.0 era. They keep users connected and facilitate the exchange of information between them.
 The European Union has adopted a new personal data protection system called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Its main goals include providing individuals with tools to control their personal data, implementing modern standards for the protection of personal information, developing the digital space of the European Union to safeguard personal data, ensuring strict compliance by all parties, and providing legal support for the international transfer of personal information.
 United States legislative documents related to aspects of data protection and privacy were analyzed, namely: California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA); Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); State data breach notification laws.
 It is noted that China has a comprehensive legal framework that regulates the protection of personal data, and includes the following legal acts: Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and Data Security Law (DSL).
 Conclusions were made that the urgency and importance of protecting personal data in social networks is due to rapid technological progress, the growth of cyber security threats and the spread of these platforms. By protecting personal data, people can maintain privacy, prevent abuse, maintain user trust, reduce risk, and comply with legal obligations. The issue of ensuring mobility and interoperability in social networks gives particular importance to the protection of personal data, as it relates to this particular data, and not just to technology, as it may be in the telecommunications sector. This requires additional thought and measures to ensure privacy and data security. Therefore, when developing legal protection mechanisms for online social networks, it is necessary to take into account and solve problems related to the protection of personal data.

Bill would ban kids under 13 from joining social media platforms

A new federal bill unveiled last week would establish a national minimum age for social media use and require tech companies to get parents' consent before creating accounts for teens, reflecting a growing trend at all levels of government to restrict how Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms engage with young users, CNN reported April 26. The proposed legislation by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators aims to address what policymakers, mental health advocates and critics of tech platforms say is a mental health crisis fueled by social media. Under the bill, known as the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, social media platforms would be barred from letting kids below the age of 13 create accounts or interact with other users, though children would still be permitted to view content without logging into an account, according to draft text of the legislation. Tech platforms covered by the legislation would also have to obtain a parent or guardian's consent before creating new accounts for users under the age of 18. The companies would be banned from using teens' personal information to target them with content or advertising, though they could still provide limited targeted recommendations to teens by relying on other contextual cues. Most major social media companies already bar kids younger than 13 from their platforms, the result of a federal children's privacy law known as COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act). But enforcing the restriction has been a challenge.

Fair privacy: how college students perceive fair privacy protection in online datasets

ABSTRACT With the wide use of social media and other online services, people are getting more concerned about online privacy. Social media platforms and other online companies are collecting users’ information for various purposes, including targeted advertising. While these data are anonymous, it is possible to identify people through publicly available information and machine learning algorithms. Members of some groups are more vulnerable to such privacy attacks and more likely to be identified. This raises a concern regarding the fair or equitable protection of online privacy, or the protection of all online users’ instead of most users’ private information. This research addresses this relatively new topic from the sociological perspective and focuses on fair privacy protection in online datasets. Questionnaire data show that college students rate the current privacy protection in online datasets low, but they have great support for general privacy protection and greater support for fair privacy protection. Factors that affect their support for general and fair privacy protection include prior cautious online behavior and how essential they rate company practice and government policies that ensure fair privacy. When they perceive a lack of fair privacy in online datasets, most of them would reduce or stop using certain online services. Factors affecting such reactions include prior cautious online behavior, hours on social media, the perception of being included in online datasets, and perceived importance of fair privacy policies. The findings highlight the pivotal role of institutional privacy measures, namely fair privacy company practice and government policies, especially the latter.

Effects of Perceived Privacy Risk and Disclosure Benefits on the Online Privacy Protection Behaviors among Chinese Teens

This study aimed to examine the effects of perceived privacy risks and benefits on the online privacy protection behaviors of Chinese teens, with information privacy concerns treated as a mediator variable. The questionnaire survey data (N = 1538) were collected from teens in seven provinces of Mainland China and were analyzed using a structural equation model (SEM). This study found that the effects of teens’ perceived privacy benefits on their information privacy concerns and online privacy protection behaviors are insignificant, but the effects of teens’ perceived privacy risk on their online privacy protection behaviors are significantly positive. Additionally, information privacy concerns significantly mediated the effects of perceived privacy risk on the online privacy protection behaviors of Chinese teens.

Dečji podaci i onlajn privatnost - odrastanje u digitalnom dobu

Adolescents in the age of technology face a variety of security issues, but one of the most significant ones, that needs to be addressed by legislators, is privacy and data protection. Research has shown that children's rights, especially children's privacy, are regulated by a large number of international regulations. At the European level, both the European Union and the Council of Europe guarantee the rights to privacy and data protection. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is the relevant act in the US. The most common violations of children's data and privacy have been found to be online data sharing and mobile application data collection practices. Children's privacy on the Internet can be improved by better communication between parents and children regarding Internet use, educating children about cyber security and online threats, using parental control software, installing antivirus programs on devices used by children and the like.

Online Privacy and Digital Submissiveness: A Study of the Internet Audience

The technological nature of the Internet predetermines the transparency of many practices of online behaviour and actualises the issue of privacy in the online environment. The article presents the results of an analysis of attitudes towards online privacy in Russian society. The empirical basis is provided by the data of the study conducted in Moscow in 2021. It is shown that the practice of the Russian Internet audience widely includes actions related to leaving personal data online. The majority of respondents (84%) share the view that access to their personal data, their processing and use should be based on the consent of users. Such attitudes are combined with low awareness of the essence of the personal data use, and of the experience of their illegitimate use by third parties. Apparently, these circumstances were the reason that more than 60% of respondents indicated their concerns about security issues in the field of online privacy. Privacy in the digital environment is influenced by the technological evolution of media, on the one hand, and political, economic and sociocultural factors of their use, on the other hand. In this regard, on the Russian empirical basis, the theoretical and applied concepts of the paradox of digital privacy and digital obedience, known in the world literature, were verified. A contradiction is revealed between the widespread concern about the confidentiality of personal data and low efforts to ensure their protection. In the group concerned about the security of personal data, 30% of users did not take any steps in this direction in their real online behaviour. As part of the study, manifestations of the phenomenon of digital obedience, associated with the installation of the “inevitability” of accepting the new coordinates of privacy that the Internet world brings with it, were recorded. The lack of action to protect personal data (with a general concern about this issue) is associated with a lack of confidence in the protection of online privacy. Overall, 40% of respondents across the array agreed that “it’s too late to protect person al data, all information about me is already on the Internet.” With the help of regression analysis, indicators were identified that correlate with such assessments. The results of the work can be used in the development of optimal solutions to ensure the security of personal data - an area where the interests of the individual, society, business, and the state collide today.

Privacy Issues in Stylometric Methods

Stylometry is a well-known field, aiming to identify the author of a text, based only on the way she/he writes. Despite its obvious advantages in several areas, such as in historical research or for copyright purposes, it may also yield privacy and personal data protection issues if it is used in specific contexts, without the users being aware of it. It is, therefore, of importance to assess the potential use of stylometry methods, as well as the implications of their use for online privacy protection. This paper aims to present, through relevant experiments, the possibility of the automated identification of a person using stylometry. The ultimate goal is to analyse the risks regarding privacy and personal data protection stemming from the use of stylometric techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific stylometric identification system, as well as to examine whether proper anonymisation techniques can be applied so as to ensure that the identity of an author of a text (e.g., a user in an anonymous social network) remains hidden, even if stylometric methods are to be applied for possible re-identification.

Under the Law: The kids have lost their cookies

As schools have ratcheted up their online remote instruction, questions about student privacy have become more significant. Robert Kim discusses current litigation related to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the use of education technology. Cases against Google have alleged that the company improperly collected student data without consent. Other cases have been brought against schools that use technology to monitor student activity at home.

Consent Receipts for a Usable and Auditable Web of Personal Data

Consenting on the Web, in the context of online privacy and data protection, is universally accepted as a difficult problem, mainly because of its cross-disciplinarity. For example, any approach to online Consenting needs to meet usability, legal, regulatory, technical, and business requirements. To date, effort has been predominantly focused on meeting compliance with regulations and automation, and less on the true re-empowerment of users with respect to their personal data. One approach that has not seen sufficient research is the use of ‘ <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Consent Receipts</i> ’, which offer a new paradigm of recording interactions concerning consent and using them as proofs in future actions, similar to familiar use of a common shopping receipt. In addition to being a record, receipts encourage accountability in how technology handles consent and is beneficial for all involved stakeholders. For organisations, it assists with legal requirements for demonstration of valid consent, while for users it provides transparency and accountability by being a proof to be used against malpractices related to consent. Receipts also have uses in addition to those related to consent, such as for authorising the holder in exercising related rights. This paper analyses the requirements, uses, and benefits offered by <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Consent Receipts</i> with an extensive and broad literature review. Since receipts are a novel concept, we identify properties and requirements, and then new mechanisms necessary for the Web to support receipts. We then demonstrate feasibility of receipts through proof-of-concepts in three common real-world use-cases: (a) acceptance of a privacy policy and its subsequent changes; (b) choices expressed via consent dialogues or cookie banners; and (c) verbal interactions with Amazon Alexa.