USAGE OF PRIVATE DATA FROM ONLINE PLATFORMS BY GOVERNMENTS AND COMPANIES: STUDY OF STUDENTS' AWARENESS AND CONCERNS
Keywords:
private data, online platforms, governments, companies, privacyAbstract
In this digital era individuals access information and communicate in new ways, changing how everyone conducts business. Today, social media, e-commerce platforms, search engines, and cloud services provide effortless engagement and connectivity, making it easier to stay digital. This increased reliance on digital platforms raises concerns about how governments and private corporations collect, store, and utilize personal data. Increased use of artificial intelligence (AI), availability of big data, and automated decision-making are not only making it easier for organizations to monitor, process, and use customer-related information for enhancing services and improving user experience and infrastructure, but also is raising questions of privacy and data protection.
Utilizing both theoretical and empirical perspectives, this study employs a quantitative research approach to assess students' concerns about data privacy. A structured questionnaire, adapted from UNESCO (2017) and consisting of 24 multiple-choice questions, was used to collect data from IBU students. The survey, conducted in April 2024, was administered online, allowing respondents to participate anonymously via computers, tablets, or smartphones. This paper presents the results from the third part of the larger research, focusing on answering the question of students' perspectives on the use of private data from online platforms by governments and companies. Other research questions addressed in this survey explore the significance of online privacy and safety (Adjaip-Velichkovski, S. 2024), students' perspectives on the importance of privacy and safety knowledge in the digital age (Adjaip-Velichkovski, S., Dzigal, S. 2024), and the importance of protection of others’ privacy on digital platforms.
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