Google is among the company facing ethical challenges concerning user data privacy. It acknowledges that third-party users had accessed to its customers’ data. The news came days after Facebook’s 2018 scandal became public. As a result, people are questioning Google’s ability to uphold and respect their privacy. Google collects a wide range of data, including a person’s birthday, location, search history, and social circle. Therefore, this scandal could endanger the company’s reputation and attract legal measures. People are increasingly practicing extra caution when dealing with Google apps. Although Google kept the data breach a secret to avoid facing regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage, an appropriate measure would be to develop strategic planning that addresses its ethics and social responsibilities.
Google admits that unauthorized parties had access to user data but fails to reveal the extent of the public’s damage. In March 2018, Google noticed the design flaw in its app, Google+ ( MacMillan & McMillan, 2018 ). The company had created application-programming interfaces (APIs) that enabled the app developers to access the data of Google+ users and people in their social circles.
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This flaw allows the user to grant developer permission to access their profile information. Eventually, Google discovered that the app developers could access the user’s data indicated as nonpublic under the privacy settings ( MacMillan & McMillan, 2018 ). Although Google assured its users of their data’s safety, there was no clear communication concerning the damage’s impact. Developers had accessed the personal information of more than 496951 users ( MacMillan & McMillan, 2018 ). Some of the customers who might have been affected by this data breach include schools, governments, and businesses.
Admittedly, people should be concerned about the information that they have stored on their Google Drives and Docs. Besides, Google claims that it has a limited set of activity logs, and thus, it unable to estimate the numbers whose information the developers collected and sold ( MacMillan & McMillan, 2018 ). Currently, the company has closed the Google+ app, but data privacy is still a problem.
Undoubtedly, Google’s strategic planning needs to incorporate ethics and social responsibilities. Google should develop a security measure that features the user’s informed consent and confidentiality. Before the users install a Google app on their smartphones and computers, the computer should highlight the potential risks and benefits (van Baalen, 2018). Besides, Google should inform the users about the parties that have access to their data and plan to use them. This strategy will enhance trust between Google and its users.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) offers significant insights into data privacy guidelines that Google can adopt. It asserts that the company should explain the reason for collecting and processing customer data, define the period required for the process, and inform and obtain users’ consent before storing cookies on their smart devices (Houser & Voss, 2018). This strategy will ensure that Google does not pay hefty fines in the European market and assure American users of its ethics and social responsibilities. Google has the burden of social responsibility since it has a leading search engine globally, and hence it has the role of protecting its users (Ring, 2016). In its strategic planning, Google should explain the security system’s updates and how much data it has collected and how it plans on using them.
If Google addresses these ethical and social concerns, it may earn the trust of its users. The company should consider GDPR’s regulations in its strategic planning. Privacy is not a privilege but a right. Google needs to consider the role in the plays in society. It has the jurisdiction to protect its users from third-party users who may violate human dignity by accessing personal information and sell them to the highest bidders. As a result, Google’s strategic planning should focus on exposing systems that can harm people and businesses.
References
Houser, K. A., & Voss, W. G. (2018). GDPR: The end of Google and Facebook or a new paradigm in data privacy. Richmond Journal of Law and Technology , 25 , 1.
MacMillan, D., & McMillan. (2018, October 8). Google exposed user data, feared repercussions of disclosing to the public . The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-exposed-user-data-feared-repercussions-of-disclosing-to-public-1539017194
Ring, T. (2016). Your data in their hands: Big data, mass surveillance, and privacy. Computer Fraud & Security , 2016 (8), 5-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1361-3723(16)30061-6
van Baalen, S. (2018). ‘Google wants to know your location’: The ethical challenges of fieldwork in the digital age. Research Ethics , 14 (4), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747016117750312
