As private and public actors build vast collections of personalized data based on individual internet usage, it becomes increasingly valuable to discuss how we view the internet as a function of the public sphere.

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Our lives are
increasingly
public, by both
our own
disclosure and
the discretion
of others. the
internet is
always on,
and to be
presentable
online means
looking your
best around
the clock

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One of the most jarring realities of the internet is not just
how much it knows about you, but how long it remembers

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And once data your
information is out
of your hands, it
lasts as long as
someone maintains
it.

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Some jurisdictions are confronting this indefinite quasi-
public record, bringing about the concept of “the right to
be forgotten”, but Big Data isn’t giving up without a fight

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Google, one of the world’s most active data hoarders,
is trying to do the bare minimum in adhering to
Europe’s “right to be forgotten”
“Google’s interpretation is that successful requests are
removed only under European domains such as google.fr,
google.uk, and google.de. In contrast, requests alleging
copyright infringement - which outnumber privacy requests
by 100:1 - are implemented under US law on all it’s domains
worldwide 1
”

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If you can’t get
Google to
remove your
information,
or you live in a
jurisdiction
that doesn’t
have “right to
be forgotten”
laws...
...your
online
presence
can follow
you
indefinitely

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The Professional World
is Checking in on You
● 75% of U.S.
recruiters and HR
professionals report
being required to
do online research
about candidates,
and 70% report that
they had rejected a
candidate because
of information found
online 2
● 30% of college
admissions officers
said they had
discovered
information online
that hurt an
applicant’s
prospects 3

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Easily available and highly detailed online information
specific means virtually anyone with a smartphone can
find out a great deal about you before you’ve ever met.
All it takes is knowing where to look.
“Your reputation precedes you…In a world where too
many job seekers fabricate parts of their resumes, the
Internet can provide valuable third-party verification
that you are who you say you are”4
- Dorie Clark

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It’s not just personal
and professional
consequences - there
are financial and legal
risks too
On the dark web,
everything from fake
social security cards to
individual bank account
information is sold and
exchanged between
technologically skilled
criminals 5

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But while there is
undeniable risks and
downsides to being
so identifiable
online...
...there are also
undeniable benefits

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Actively controlling your online image and
promoting the parts that are impressive means
reaching a wider audience to broadcast your
ideas and capabilities
“[W]e’re living in a “reputation
economy”. What people say about you,
and the online presence you create, will
determine your success or failure in
this economy”6
- Dan Schwabel

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sfasfasfa
“By what you do on social media, you are creating a
profile about yourself” 7
- Mark Cuban

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The benefit is not
only for individuals,
but businesses as
well
73% of consumers say that positive online reviews
make them more likely to trust a business 8

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There are of course both potential benefits and
detriments to the massive collection and
publicizing of personalized data online.
How you are affected, and to what degree,
depends on what’s been collected and who’s
doing the collecting.

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Government - data collection by programs such as the NSA
and CSEC collect and catalogue personal information of both
citizens and foreign nationals, sometimes with little oversight
or without specific or attainable goals and purposes 9

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● Corporations - in March 2013, Google admitted that it’s Google Maps
cars “were not just taking pictures; they were collecting data from
computers inside homes and structures, including “passwords, e-
mails and other personal information from unsuspecting computer
users” 10
○ U.S. District Court...held that Google never told Gmail users that
Google would create personal profiles and target users with ads.11

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Those of us who are
the subjects of data
collection are the
least influential
when it comes to
how that data is
collected and what
it is used for.

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The internet is
characterized as the
newest stage of the public
sphere, but it is only
public in terms of
accessibility
It is almost entirely
private when it comes
to ownership, control,
and administration.

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Just because anyone can see what you put online, doesn’t
mean we own the internet collectively. The maintenance of
the internet is not performed by the social collective, but by
particular government and corporate stakeholders with
specific interests.
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Your online presence is
publically accessible and
privately owned the minute you
click send, share, or post. Your
online presence is part of you,
but it’s not yours.

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Works Cited
1. Powels, Julia, and Enrique Chaparro. "How Google Determined Our Right to Be Forgotten." The Guardian
February 18, 2015. Accessed June 12, 2015.
2. Rosen, Jeffrey. "The Web Means the End of Forgetting." The New York Times. July 24, 2010. Accessed June
12, 2015.
3. Singer, Natasha. "In College Admissions, Social Media Can Be a Double-Edged Sword." Bits. November 11,
2013. Accessed June 12, 2015.
4. Clark, Dorie. "It's Not a Job Search, It's a Permanent Campaign." March 28, 2012. Accessed June 12, 2015.
5. Thompson, Cadie. "Here's How Much Thieves Make by Selling Your Personal Data Online." Business Insider.
May 27, 2015. Accessed June 12, 2015.
6. Schawbel, Dan. "The Reputation Economy Is Coming - Are You Prepared?" Forbes. February 28, 2011.
Accessed June 12, 2015.
7. Cuban, Mark. "Mark Cuban: The Big Mistake You Don't Know You're Making on Social Media." Inc.com.
Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.inc.com/mark-cuban/playbook-biggest-mistake-social-media.html.
8. Martin, Ron. "Appear, Engage, & Influence: Get the 10 Benefits of Online Reputation Management."
InfoTeam. March 18, 2014. Accessed June 12, 2015.
9. Solove, Daniel. "Data Mining and the Security-Liberty Debate." George Washington University Law Faculty
Publications, 2008.
10. Rosenfeld, Steven. "4 Ways Google Is Destroying Privacy and Collecting Your Data." Salon. February 5,
2015. Accessed June 12, 2015.
11. ibid.
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