Weekly Topics - Week 10: Online Censorship and Privacy

 This week’s topic is about Censorship, Privacy, and the Internet. I will talk about two examples: One about censorship and one about privacy.

Online censorship

source: pixabay

When it comes to online censorship, China immediately comes to mind. The country is known for strict laws and strict censorship. One interesting example is the popular app WeChat. The app company is based in China and counts over 1.1 billion global users. It is one of the world’s most advanced and popular apps. It reaches into many corners of a Chinese person’s life: the way much of the country chats, pays, plays, moves, and much more [1].

“The all-encompassing ambition of WeChat includes some of the most cutting-edge, quick-acting, and far-reaching censorship technology on earth.” [1]

The app can censor text and images in real-time. One example of WeChat censoring a certain word happened in 2015. The app seemed to censor the word “Uber” [2]. Users who posted about Uber could see their own posts but soon discovered their friends couldn’t. Any post mentioning “Uber” was hidden to outsiders. The company said the issue was caused by a technical glitch, but a) no other search terms were affected and b) the company is an investor in Uber competitor Didi Kuaidi. So, the claim isn’t really trustworthy [2].

Privacy (or no privacy?)

source: pixabay

In the recent years, DNA testing companies have gained popularity. The idea is that these companies analyze your DNA and find out information for you about your heritage, distant family members, etc. But when it comes to personal data, it also comes to privacy. Many people are concerned about giving their personal DNA to a company. When you search for “DNA testing companies”, articles about keeping your data private pop up on the first page. Startups like Nebula Genomics, Encrypgen, DNATix, and others put the customers genome on a blockchain that ensures the customer will always have control over who gets to access their source code [3]. Companies like MyHeritage or Ancestry want you to create an account on their website first. They put your profile on the databank and compare it with all the other users. They claim that you can delete your account at any time – and your data will then be deleted as well [4]. If that’s entirely true remains unanswered for now. I just think that this DNA example is an interesting case for privacy on the internet. Giving ones own DNA to a company is definitely something one should think about first. But I’m not the one to judge since I don’t know enough about the safety and privacy of that.


Sources: 

[1] https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/07/15/134178/how-wechat-censors-private-conversations-automatically-in-real-time/

[2] https://www.techinasia.com/top-10-censorship-china-2015

[3] https://www.maketecheasier.com/dna-testing-companies-keep-data-private/

[4] https://www.daserste.de/information/wissen-kultur/w-wie-wissen/Ahnenforschung-mit-DNA-Test-100.html

 

 

 

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