internet privacy research paper essay

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Internet Privacy Essays

21 samples in this category

Internet Privacy Issues Users Must Care About

Internet privacy issues and precautions to avoid them, internet privacy: corporate data collection versus privacy rights of individuals.

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Pros And Cons Of Using Technology: Internet Privacy

The regulation of internet privacy in the usa, has the internet destroyed privacy.

Essay on Why Is Privacy Important in Social Media

Hipaa: safe harbor method in de-identification of protected health information, the ways information can be collected on the internet, digital privacy in australia compared to other countries, the relationship of privacy to facebook’s business model, privacy in press and internet, impact of wearable technology on hipaa, hipaa research via the department of health and human services website, the government interference with individuals’ privacy on the internet, digital security on the internet as a major issue in recent years, problem of privacy violation in modern society, hipaa to meet federal prerequisites for electronic phi upkeep, transmission, and capacity, revenge pornography: the need to make the internet safe for women in a digital age, the facebook privacy scandal, security and privacy issues in iot smart cities.

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Internet Privacy - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

Internet privacy refers to the right or expectation of privacy in the digital realm, encompassing issues related to the protection of personal data, confidentiality, and anonymity online. Essays on internet privacy could delve into the risks and challenges associated with digital surveillance, data breaches, or online tracking, the impact of laws and regulations on privacy, or the ways in which individuals and organizations can protect privacy online. They might also explore the ethical, social, and political implications of privacy in the digital age, or the tensions between privacy, security, and convenience online. A substantial compilation of free essay instances related to Internet Privacy you can find at PapersOwl Website. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Impact of Technology on Privacy

The 21st Century is characterized by the heavy impact technology has on us as a society while it continues to develop new devices and modernize technology. Millions of individuals around the world are now connected digitally, in other words, people globally rely heavily on smartphones tablets, and/ or computers that store or save a majority of their personal information. Critical and extremely personal data is available and collected in these smart technology such as credit card details, fingerprint layout, and […]

A World Without Internet

On the street is the 21st century. Almost all people on our planet have access to the Internet. And they are actively using it. But they forget that they use it almost around the clock. From watching the weather in the morning to texting on social media in the evening. Instead of writing an essay by hand, a modern student simply downloads it. People on the Internet are already looking for work, pay for housing and communal services, participate in […]

Positive and Negative Effects of Internet

The topic of the pros and cons of the Internet is one of the most controversial topics. People often cannot give a definite answer to it. The topic of the Internet is quite versatile. Let's look at it from the positive side first. The Internet is the greatest invention of mankind, which made life easier and continues to do it for us hundreds of times. Its first plus is, of course, the available information. Now you can find out any […]

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Security Versus Freedom?

Welcome to the Digital Age. In today’s connected world, we are living much of our live online. As a result, companies everywhere are creating large storehouses of data on all of us. The most obvious information being collected is social media data. Everything we post publicly and some cases privately, is being stored and analysed. But it is not just social media, there is now a digital record of everything we buy, everything we watch, where we go and what […]

Internet Access Restrictions May Vary

  Fantastic. In most instances, they are placed on search quarries and are most prominent at education centers. This is simply to keep minds safe from content unsuitable for most ages (Gonchar). Although this is an effective plan with good intentions, it can become more effective by being enforced on younger ages rather than those who have already been exposed to the negative side of the internet. As you enter high school you have nearly done and seen everything there […]

Securing Cyberspace: Crafting Tomorrow’s Internet Privacy Laws

In an era where digital footprints shape our daily lives, the quest to safeguard personal privacy in the vast expanse of the internet has become more critical than ever before. Transitioning from the pixels that construct our online world to the intricate policies governing its boundaries signifies a pivotal juncture in the evolution of digital governance. As we navigate through this landscape of data, the formulation of robust internet privacy legislation emerges as a beacon of protection against the perils […]

Silent Struggle: Assessing Threats to Internet Privacy and Security

In today's digital age, the internet serves as the cornerstone of modern communication, commerce, and entertainment. However, amidst the convenience and connectivity it offers, lurks a pervasive and often invisible battle for privacy and security. From data breaches to surveillance, the threats to our online well-being are manifold and ever-evolving. One of the most concerning threats is the rampant collection and misuse of personal data by corporations and governments alike. Every click, search, and purchase leaves a digital footprint, eagerly […]

Safeguarding Cyberspace: the Vital Role of AI in Preserving Online Privacy

In an era where our digital footprints grow larger with every click, the question of how to protect our online privacy becomes increasingly pertinent. Enter Artificial Intelligence, our modern-day guardians in the complex realm of cyberspace. Far beyond mere machines crunching numbers, AI has evolved into a formidable force in the fight against privacy breaches. The first and foremost duty of AI guardians is to fortify our virtual boundaries. Picture them as vigilant sentinels stationed at the gates of our […]

Preserving Digital Integrity: a Scholarly Evaluation of Internet Privacy

In the contemporary digital epoch, where the internet serves as an omnipotent conduit for global interaction, commerce, and information dissemination, the concept of cyber privacy emerges as a pivotal concern. As an academic critic, entrusted with scrutinizing the intricacies of cyber privacy, it becomes essential to unravel the diverse facets of this intricate matter, ranging from its legal and ethical dimensions to its societal and technological reverberations. Cyber privacy fundamentally entails the right of individuals to govern their personal information […]

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Expert Commentary

Data security: Research on privacy in the digital age

Research on consumer attitudes toward digital privacy and the practices of tech companies that shape data collection and use policies.

Republish this article

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

by Chloe Reichel, The Journalist's Resource April 12, 2018

This <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/data-digital-privacy-cambridge-analytica/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist's Resource</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-150x150.png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;">

On your smartphone, you’re not much more than a data machine, generating reams of valuable information that tech companies can mine for insights, sell to advertisers and use to optimize their products.

The Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involves a third-party Facebook app that harvested data well beyond the scope of the 270,000 users who initially consented to its terms of service for use in political campaigns (including Donald Trump’s 2016 bid for the presidency), highlights anew the vulnerability of consumer data in this digital age.

But it’s easy to forget these risks to personal privacy and security while tapping out messages to friends or scrolling endlessly through the web. The distraction machines at our fingertips ask for access and we give it up quickly, hastily agreeing to unread privacy policies and terms of service in exchange for a fresh jolt of content.

Studies highlight this “digital privacy paradox,” in which people express concerns over their privacy but then act in ways that undermine these beliefs , for example, offering up personal data for a small incentive. This review features research on this topic — consumer attitudes toward digital privacy — as well as studies of the supply-side — that is, research on the practices of app developers and other tech companies that shape data collection and use policies.

“ Artificial Intelligence and Consumer Privacy ” Jin, Ginger Zhe. National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, 2018. DOI: 10.3386/w24253.

Summary: This paper looks at the risks big data poses to consumer privacy. The author describes the causes and consequences of data breaches and the ways in which technological tools can be used for data misuse. She then explores the interaction between privacy risks and the U.S. market. For example, the author highlights the “self-conflicting” views consumers hold about their privacy, citing literature in which consumers give away personal data for small incentives despite attitudes that might indicate otherwise. On the supply side, similar paradoxes exist — for example, despite an awareness of cyber risks, firms “tend to deploy new technology… before adopting security measures to protect them.” The author discusses how market forces might motivate firms to strengthen privacy settings in response to consumer concerns, but also mentions how market mechanisms can have the opposite effect, using the example of password policies and consumers’ demand for convenience (in the form of weaker password requirements). The author then describes how artificial intelligence might be used to mitigate data security and privacy risks. Lastly, she provides an overview of U.S. policy on consumer privacy and data security and describes future challenges in the field.

“ The Digital Privacy Paradox: Small Money, Small Costs, Small Talk ” Athey, Susan; Catalini, Christian; Tucker, Catherine. National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, 2017. DOI: 10.3386/w23488.

Abstract: “‘Notice and Choice’ has been a mainstay of policies designed to safeguard consumer privacy. This paper investigates distortions in consumer behavior when faced with notice and choice which may limit the ability of consumers to safeguard their privacy using field experiment data from the MIT digital currency experiment. There are three findings. First, the effect small incentives have on disclosure may explain the privacy paradox: Whereas people say they care about privacy, they are willing to relinquish private data quite easily when incentivized to do so. Second, small navigation costs have a tangible effect on how privacy-protective consumers’ choices are, often in sharp contrast with individual stated preferences about privacy. Third, the introduction of irrelevant, but reassuring information about privacy protection makes consumers less likely to avoid surveillance, regardless of their stated preferences towards privacy.”

“ Mobile Applications and Access to Private Data: The Supply Side of the Android Ecosystem ” Kesler, Reinhold; Kummer, Michael E.; Schulte, Patrick. SSRN Electronic Journal , 2017. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3106571.

Summary: This paper looks at strategies mobile app developers use to collect data, which apps are most likely to practice intrusive data collection, and what factors predict problematic personal data usage. By examining the variations in data collection strategies of different apps created by the same developers over a period of four years, the researchers uncover three trends. 1) With time and experience, developers adopt more intrusive data collection tactics. 2) Apps with intrusive data collection strategies most commonly target adolescents. 3) Apps that request “critical and atypical permissions” (i.e., access to various data sources) are linked with an increased risk of problematic data practices later on.

“ Consumer Privacy Choice in Online Advertising: Who Opts Out and at What Cost to Industry? ” Johnson, Garrett A.; Shriver, Scott; Du, Shaoyin. SSRN Electronic Journal , 2017. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3020503.

Abstract: “We study consumer privacy choice in the context of online display advertising, where advertisers track consumers’ browsing to improve ad targeting. In 2010, the American ad industry implemented a self-regulation mechanism that overlaid ‘AdChoices’ icons on ads, which consumers could click to opt out of online behavioral advertising. We examine the real-world uptake of AdChoices using transaction data from an ad exchange. Though consumers express strong privacy concerns in surveys, we find that only 0.23 percent of American ad impressions arise from users who opted out of online behavioral advertising. We also find that opt-out user ads fetch 59.2 percent less revenue on the exchange than do comparable ads for users who allow behavioral targeting. These findings are broadly consistent with evidence from the European Union and Canada, where industry subsequently implemented the AdChoices program. We calculate an upper bound for the industry’s value of the average opt-out user’s browsing information to be $8 per capita annually in the US. We find that opt-out users tend to be more technologically sophisticated, though opt-out rates are higher in American states with lower income. These results inform the privacy policy discussion by illuminating the real-world consequences of an opt-out privacy mechanism.”

“ The Economics of Privacy ” Acquisti, Alessandro; Taylor, Curtis R.; Wagman, Liad. Journal of Economic Literature , 2016. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2580411.

Abstract: “This article summarizes and draws connections among diverse streams of theoretical and empirical research on the economics of privacy. We focus on the economic value and consequences of protecting and disclosing personal information, and on consumers’ understanding and decisions regarding the trade-offs associated with the privacy and the sharing of personal data. We highlight how the economic analysis of privacy evolved over time, as advancements in information technology raised increasingly nuanced and complex issues associated with the protection and sharing of personal information. We find and highlight three themes that connect diverse insights from the literature. First, characterizing a single unifying economic theory of privacy is hard, because privacy issues of economic relevance arise in widely diverse contexts. Second, there are theoretical and empirical situations where the protection of privacy can both enhance, and detract from, individual and societal welfare. Third, in digital economies, consumers’ ability to make informed decisions about their privacy is severely hindered, because consumers are often in a position of imperfect or asymmetric information regarding when their data is collected, for what purposes, and with what consequences. We conclude the article by highlighting some of the ongoing issues in the privacy debate of interest to economists.”

About The Author

Chloe Reichel

JournalBuddies.com

Journal Buddies Jill | June 7, 2023 August 19, 2013 | Journal Prompts & Writing Ideas , Special Writing Topics

Privacy Essay Topics (50 Ideas!)

Privacy Essay Topics Inspired by Right to Privacy Concerns— After Edward Snowden, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), leaked a series of classified documents to the press, people around the world have been talking about government surveillance and privacy concerns. Though these issues are controversial and complex, it’s important for students to have a basic understanding of what’s going on—and to start thinking about how these issues affect their world.

After learning about the information that has come to light, students need the opportunity to explore their own thoughts and feelings on this important issue.

These 50 new journal prompts offer students the chance to think about their own right to privacy, the government’s motives for surveillance, and the ramifications of wide-scale public monitoring. As they write, students can consider everything from what they would do if they found evidence of an illegal activity to what it means for the government to have such comprehensive information about its citizens.

Use these journal prompts to help students understand the controversy regarding PRISM and the NSA—and to get them thinking about their rights and expectations of privacy.

50 Privacy Essay Topics

• As Americans, do we have a right to privacy?
• Should the government be allowed to monitor phone calls, emails, and Internet searches for the purpose of learning about terrorist organizations and plans?
• Do you think that this type of data actually helps the government learn about potential threats against the US?
• Which of the programs revealed by Edward Snowden is most surprising to you? Why?
• Do you agree with that particular program? Why or why not?
• Are there any facets of the NSA’s actions that you particularly agree or disagree with? Why?
• If you found evidence that your parent or teacher was doing something wrong, what would you do with the information?
• Do you think people have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using the phone or the Internet?
• Should people have an expectation of privacy when they are in a public place?
• Do you think Edward Snowden should be considered a criminal or a hero? Why?
• What are the most important rights we have as American citizens? Why do these matter?
• Has anyone ever invaded your privacy (such as by reading your journal or text messages between you and your friends)? How did you feel?
• Why is it important for our government to have a series of checks and balances in place?
• What are some of the dangers of the government monitoring citizen behavior?
• Are there any situations in which someone might be mistakenly accused of illegal activity through this type of monitoring?
• Should the government target or watch particular people more often than others?
• Has your family changed its behavior since the NSA’s surveillance methods were exposed?
• What does it mean to keep a secret?
• Should employers or school officials be able to access someone’s Facebook or social media accounts? Why or why not?
• What would you do if you found out that someone at your school was able to read your private Facebook messages, tweets, or texts?
• If you found out that your social media account was monitored by the government, would you continue to use it?
• Do you think Edward Snowden should have released his information to the media, or should he have taken it somewhere else?
• Because of the “freedom of the press,” the media is able to act as a balance to the government’s actions. What do you think of the media’s role in this—do media outlets expose corrupt actions or do they cover up secrets from the American public?
• Has anyone ever trusted you with private information? What did you do?

• How has privacy changed over the past several years with the popularization of cell phones, digital cameras, and the Internet?
• Should Edward Snowden have revealed that the US was monitoring other countries? Would the situation have been less controversial if he had only exposed the monitoring of US citizens?
• Do governments have the right to monitor what their citizens are doing?
• What do you think it would be like to work for a top government organization?
• Would you want to have a job that gave you access to secret information, or would it be too much of a burden to have to keep the secrets?
• Who should have access to records and reports on the behavior of American citizens?
• What kinds of government surveillance should be allowed?
• What would you do if you found out that one of your friends was doing something illegal or wrong? Would you tell someone? Why or why not?
• Would you ever listen in on someone’s phone call or read his or her emails if you suspected the person was doing something wrong? Why or why not?
• What would you do if you were wrongly accused of an illegal activity because of a search made from your computer or because of a phone call you made? How would you feel?
• Before the NSA’s actions were exposed, did you think the government could access data from telephone or Internet records? Why or why not?
• If Edward Snowden is found guilty, what type of punishment should he have?
• What types of information do you think are most relevant for the government to monitor? Why?
• Are there other systems or programs in place that monitor the behavior of US citizens?
• Why are these new revelations of government surveillance so important? What are the long-term effects of the NSA’s actions?
• How much of what takes place on the Internet should be kept private? Why?
• Are you good at keeping secrets? Why or why not?
• Write about a time when you gave away something you were supposed to keep secret. What happened? How did you feel afterward?
• Will devices like Google Glass and the Xbox One make it harder for people to have true privacy?
• How will the information released by Edward Snowden affect the perception that other countries have of America?
• Do you think there may be more secrets regarding the NSA’s programs that haven’t yet been revealed?
• Do you think that criminals and terrorists will change their behavior now that the NSA’s programs have been revealed?
• What are some other ways that the government could track suspected terrorists?
• Would these methods be less effective, as effective, or more effective than the current programs that recently came to light? Why or why not?
• As technology improves, how do you think privacy issues will change? Why?

More Essay Topics for Kids

• 33 Argumentative Essay Topics for Middle School
• Explanatory Essay Writing Topics for Students
• Interesting Persuasive Essay Topics

If you enjoyed these Privacy Essay Topics, please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!

Sincerely, Jill journalbuddies.com creator and curator

Tap to See Prompts 33 Argumentative Essay Topics for Middle School 21 Explanatory Essay Topics for Students 35 Awesome Kids Essay Topics Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7-8 Grade 9-12 All Ages ------------End of Om Added --------- Tags Edward Snowden , government surveillance and privacy concern , help , help students , help students understand , Ideas for Kids , journal , journal prompts , Journal Prompts Ideas , National Security Agency , new journal prompts , NSA , Prompt Ideas , right to privacy , students div#postbottom { margin-top: 12px; } Search Now Offering You 18,000+ Prompts!

Information privacy concern at individual, group, organization and societal level - a literature review

Vilakshan - XIMB Journal of Management

ISSN : 0973-1954

Article publication date: 8 January 2021

Issue publication date: 27 July 2021

In today’s digitized environment, information privacy has become a prime concern for everybody. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of information privacy concern arising because of the application of computer-based information system in the various domains (E-Governance, E-Commerce, E-Health, E-Banking and E-Finance), and at different levels, i.e. individual, group, organizational and societal.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed an in-depth analysis of different research articles related to information privacy concerns and elements affecting those at certain level of applications. The primary sources of literature were articles retrieved from online databases. Various online journal and scholarly articles were searched in detail to locate information privacy-related articles.

The authors have carried out a detailed literature review to identify the different levels where the privacy is a big challenging task. This paper provides insights whether information privacy concern may obstruct in the successful dispersal and adoption of different applications in various application domains. Consumers’ attitude towards information privacy concerns have enlightened and addressed at individual levels in numerous domains. Privacy concerns at the individual level, as suggested by our analysis, seem to have been sufficiently addressed or addressed. However, information privacy concerns at other levels – group, organizational and societal levels – need the attention of researchers.

Originality/value

In this paper, the authors have posited that it will help the researchers to more focus at group level privacy perspective in the information privacy era.

• Information privacy
• Information security
• Information privacy concern
• Privacy levels

Rath, D.K. and Kumar, A. (2021), "Information privacy concern at individual, group, organization and societal level - a literature review", Vilakshan - XIMB Journal of Management , Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 171-186. https://doi.org/10.1108/XJM-08-2020-0096

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Dillip Kumar Rath and Ajit Kumar.

Published in Vilakshan – XIMB Journal of Management . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence maybe seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

The deployment of computer-based information system (CBIS) is continuously increasing in various spheres of human life, such as education, health care, commerce, transportation, governance, the social network and various other areas. The purpose of CBIS deployment is to make information processing, storage and sharing with effective and efficient ( Yadav, 2006 ). Undoubtedly, the CBIS applications have brought convenience and efficiency to daily human life by collecting, processing and communicating users’ information. There are two major concerns of individuals came in to picture, i.e. privacy and security, when their information stored and processed in the CBIS.

Privacy and security concern

Security concern

Privacy concern

Security concern.

Security is a fundamental component in any transaction data processing system. Security is a robust requirement in all computing systems ( Gonzalez et al. , 2012 ), and this is a significant concern in today's current progressive environment. We considered that security is a concern where all information is stored and used for analytics purpose. Nowadays, security is a significant challenge in protecting individual information ( Straub and Collins, 1990 ). The security concern has direct implication towards resource sharing. Moreover, at this point security concern deals with sources of information to be kept and used by the right person, right time, right value and right location ( Burton et al. , 2012 ) with efficiently and effectively. Any security breaches will lead to the mishaps in the whole system.

Privacy concern.

Privacy is an intangible apprehension of an individual property. Privacy is someone or something, which is not observed or disturbed by others – “an individual right to keep the personal information and matters secret and control over the information”. Privacy may also is a state free from unwanted intrusions and disturbances; the ability of an individual to certain ways publicized in a specific way ( Fried, 1968 ). Private to individual means something is unique and sensitive to them. Vocabulary such as private, isolation, quietness, interruption, intrusion and lack of disturbances, characterizes individual privacy. It may be connected directly or indirectly with a person's ownership of information and control over sharing mechanism. In general, individuals are more concern towards information privacy concern due to their engagement and the growing habitat nature towards adopting the new technologies. The privacy of resources which have a value needs to be protected. So, privacy concern raised by individuals is a significant issue in the context of the information storing, analysing, sharing and maintaining in CBIS. Figure 1 highlights the overview of information privacy at different stakeholders.

Literature review

We performed an in-depth analysis of information privacy concerns (IPC) by searching for various research articles from online peer-reviewed journals. We reviewed the literature to understand the status quo of this issue around the world. Keywords combinations, such as “privacy concern,” “privacy concern of information system”, “data privacy and electronic system”, were used to find relevant literature. A total of 124 literature related to information privacy concern have been reviewed, and 84 scholarly articles were found to be fit for our review and analysis, and hence, taken into consideration.

The objective of this review is to provide a concise but clear picture of information privacy concern (IPC) in an information system environment at different levels and different domain applications around the world. Some research papers focus on concern for internet privacy, digital privacy, the multilevel effect of information privacy and internet purchasing behaviour related to privacy concerns. Privacy-related research has a cultural dimension, and most research has focused on the western context. Through this cross-sectional view of information privacy concern (IPC); this paper aims to provide a better picture of information privacy concern at different levels. Table 1 profiles the definitions of information privacy concern.

Privacy concern in various domains

In this study, we have tried to analyse the interrelationship and the influencing factors affecting the privacy concern and how different applications are associated with privacy concerns. Privacy concern is of the utmost importance for applications like health-care domain, banking, governance, e-commerce, financial institutions, the internet, cloud computing, social networking and education. Privacy concern on different domain applications are as follows:

Electronic business (E-business) refers to transforming business transactions through the internet. These business transactions include a process in buying and selling, customer service, managing process on production, payment processing, collaboration with trading partners ( Swani and Brown, 2011 ). The financial privacy ( Jentzsch, 2001 ) is related to an individual's financial transactions are recorded with the proper process, and it ensures that all information to be covered by avoiding fraud. However, the actual required personal identifying information is collected using a certain mining software ( Li and Sarkar, 2006 ). In social contract theory, ( Donaldson and Dunfee, 1994 ) researcher explained the privacy concern by which the fair means of a collection of personal information on the web through online are only justified if the consumer given the preferences of control and the way of using that information. In a certain way, consumers are vulnerable towards the utility of their personal information ( Culnan and Williams, 2009 ) and the inability to control over the information utilization.

Moreover, unknown to individual data can be collected, additional data without the individual being aware ( Belanger and Hiller, 2006 ). Often data is shared for a particular purpose but ends up being used for an entirely different purpose. There is privacy paradox, where individual privacy information does not match actual behaviour when they are sharing information ( Norberg and Horne, 2007 ). In some cases, individuals prefer to state their actual information through online purchase ( Brown and Muchira, 2004 ) when they find it convenient.

Health-care domain

The health-care system is the management of the organization, consisting of resources, policies, people and services, which dealt with to deliver health-related information to the people concern. Modern health-care system activities use information technology as a baseline to deliver better and effective service to citizens ( Ovengalt et al. , 2017 ). Health-care practices cover with disease diagnosis, hospital activities and human health checkup. By the utilization of technology, it becomes easy to serve medical treatment with quality service by adopting new, developed infrastructural equipment ( Raval and Jangale, 2016 ). The patient is in a state to provide all the necessary information to the concerned authority at the time of disease diagnosis ( Tham et al. , 2014 ). However, fear factors arise in the mind of a patient, whether private information is kept confidential. This observation creates fear and reduces trust in the hospital practitioner. Here, trust plays a major role and form a different association between patient and practitioner.

Banking and finance domain

Privacy and security concerns in banking industries tend to be a significant concern at the individual level as well as organizational level. Individuals have good faith and trust in bankers ( Omariba et al. , 2012 ) that their private data would never be made public. The banking system follows some standards which are a crucial concept to be maintained by every banker. In some cases, bankers themselves have breached the system and information has been leaked ( Amor, 2002 ). To protect the privacy information of the customers, banks have taken major steps by formulating protection policy to accumulate the confidence of the customers ( Normalini and Ramayah, 2017 ). Moreover, the bank also assured that, at any cost, the transaction record would not have transmitted to the public domain. Banks have committed to their privacy policies, not to disclose private and confidential information ( Sohail and Al-Jabri, 2014 ).

Social networking

The current scenario shows that social networking has changed the way people communicate and their lifestyle. People interact with their friends, relatives and family members on a single platform, and this possibly poses a privacy risk ( Alashoor et al. , 2017 ). The hackers access detailed private information from those social network sites ( Kyei-BlanksonIyer and Subramanian, 2016 ) by sending the adware or malicious links, and they use it to transfer all that private information. So, it becomes a significant challenge to tackle in current scenario because social media and social networking sites are heavily accessible by the youth of many nations ( Spottswood and Hancock, 2017 ). Maintaining privacy through the social networking site is the right of the individual to show the personal information, storing the personal information, access to third parties and displaying the information via the web ( Black et al. , 2015 ).

In the recent trend of digital transformation over the internet, there are multiple opportunities available doing business and deliver excellent quality services. Nevertheless, as the information collected, processed, stored and analysed by the organizations ( Singh and Chauhan, 2012 ), it becomes an increasing challenge towards data security, information privacy and related state of compliance. A sound governance system is one where people are working together by using three resources together – human resource, information process and technology applications. In this connection, the privacy concern of everyone to be maintained by collecting and processing the personally identifiable information ( Kharade, 2016 ) together by keeping the trade secret with confidential information. In general, technology is an integral part of information security, threat alert and risk management ( Saha et al. , 2010 ). Employees concerned should have clearly defined roles and responsibilities, essential resources and clear guidance to handle the objectives of the organization ( Martin, 2016 ).

Methodology

To present a concise and refined perspective, this paper considers not only scholarly articles on information privacy but also specific online resources which deal with privacy and security concerns. Useful articles from electronic databases like EBSCO, JSTOR, Taylor and Francis, SAGE, ProQuest, Elsevier (Science Direct), Google.com, Emerald and Google Scholar were accessed. Specific keywords like'Information Privacy','Information Privacy Concern','Levels of Privacy',‘Individual and Group Privacy’, ‘Dimensions of Privacy’, ‘Privacy and Security’, ‘Measure the Privacy Concern’, ‘Tools and Techniques for Privacy Concern’, ‘Indicators of privacy and measurement’, ‘Privacy Issues’, ‘Factors in Privacy Concern’, ‘Privacy Act’, ‘Multidimensional effect on Privacy’ and other relevant words were used in different combinations to be as accurate as possible in getting the results. The preliminary search of results had thrown up many cases, of false results, so the search had to be refined. For example, specific search results dealt with other dimensions of privacy like culture, act and policy rather than with information privacy concern. Most of these false articles could be eliminated based on a brief reading of the title. We decided on the relevance of the other articles after a reading of the abstracts. Hence, in this paper, the literatures on information privacy concern are reviewed through four perspectives. First, there is a chronological study of literature, where the paper looks at how research on information privacy concern has developed and how different papers described the IPC. Second, this paper looks at how different application/area concern towards IPC and elaborate factors which influence IPC. Third, this paper looks at the various levels that have emerged in the field of information privacy concern, thus highlighting the different issues that people face in privacy concern at individual, group, organizational and societal levels. Finally, the paper looks at how the multilevel effect of analysis has progressed across different geographical nations and cultures. Several research articles describe and reflect on information privacy; that is, how various factors influence privacy concerns and what is the built-in relationship existed between them and how hierarchical multilevel effects influence others.

Result and discussion

Information is defined as a structured way of representation of the raw data after processing, summarizing and transforming. Data is processed, stored and shared in a certain way, and an arrangement meaningfully represents it. By the utilization of computer-based information system (CBIS), data is collected, processed, stored, analysed and transformed into a meaningful way. Information privacy is defined as the right of an individual over the personal data, who can manage the data and takes decision to what extent the personal data would communicate to others ( Westin and Louis, 1970 ). In the literature review, Skinner identified privacy in three different levels – individual, group and organization. Societal level ( Smith et al. , 2011 ) explained as one which is used for analysis in privacy concern within cross-cultural or across the nation. APCO macro model ( Smith et al. , 2011 ) “Antecedents => Privacy Concerns =>Outcomes”, considered by examining the central construct “Privacy Concerns” (e.g. perception, beliefs), antecedents (privacy experiences, privacy awareness, demographic difference, culture), and then focus on the outcomes (regulations, behavioural reactions, trust, privacy calculus) and associated relationships.

The dimensions of information privacy

The privacy concern measures the degree of control by consumers ( Fletcher and Peters, 1997 ) over the personally identifiable information. Milberg et al. (2000) explained in a study, which revealed that the privacy concern influences the attitude of individuals such as acceptance, willingness, preferences. It depends upon the individual perceptions to evaluate the correspondence of privacy concern by taking different dimensional factors ( Van Slyke et al. , 2006 ). In the process of conceptualization of IPC, Hong and Thong (2013) identified six key dimensions, and those are errors, usage, improper access, collection, control and awareness. Fear is another dimension where one is browsing details can be monitored and captured ( Dinev and Hart, 2004 ). If there is an advancement in technology, then inappropriate accessibility of personal information could have restricted, and it will limit the inappropriate access in public domain of all stakeholders. Personal information and identity issues, with the uncertainty of user identification over the internet are gathered using the collection dimension.

Researchers have also tried to explain other dimensions by focusing on instruments like CFIP – concern for information privacy and IUIPC - Internet user’s data privacy concerns. The CFIP has focused on four dimensions includes data collection, error in data, unauthorized use of data and unauthorized access ( Smith et al. , 1996 ). At a later stage, a new version of the internet user's information privacy concerns construct has evolved and focused on three main dimensions – collection mechanism, awareness and control ( Malhotra et al. , 2004 ). The willingness of a person in a transaction varies in internet user’s information privacy concerns instrument than concern for information privacy.

Theoretical contributions

There are theoretical contributions to information privacy research using from Gregor’s (2006) designed framework concept, which classifies them into five different types – analysing, explaining, predicting, explaining and predicting and the last one is design and action ( Gregor, 2006 ). First theory type describes the essence of information privacy, and it explains by analysing the necessity of its state. Second theory type explains details on information privacy research, and it does not contribute any expectations. Third theory type explains that it gives some concrete predictable results without developing real relationships. Fourth theory type explains both the testable results and explains the causal relationship between them. Fifth theory type explains the design and action type which specially designed tool for providing information privacy. Reagle and Cranor (1999) and Cranor et al. (2006) defined that each website has their own privacy protection protocol framework to define their own website related protection policy, and it matches with the user's privacy preferences. The tools would confirm them about their utilization of websites for the transaction, and it would assure them for safe use, and after then, this increases the behavioural trust of a consumer for the websites. Also, it could encourage consumers to measure the privacy attitude when transacting with a website.

The level of analysis in information privacy concerns

Skinner et al. (2006) identified individual, group and organizational as three levels of information privacy. After then, the article written by Smith et al. classified and described four levels of privacy as an individual, group, organizational and societal. Most of the information privacy research conducted first at individual levels, and it has implications at other levels. In the second level analysis researcher conceptualized privacy as a multilevel concept, and it has identified research effect on the phenomenon occurring at or across multilevel occurrences concurrently. In some cases, researchers look at some point of interaction between individuals and organizational approaches ( Miyazaki and Krishnamurthy, 2002 ); Milne and Gordon (1993) gave insight on IPC at individuals as well as to the societal level of analysis. Smith (2004) and Schwaig et al. (2005) gave on organizational approaches on social culture which give an insight of multilevel approaches, and it encourages further study of the multilevel concept. The key identifiers of different literatures are listed in the appendix of our study.

Researchers addressed the IPC in the lens of multilevel concept, on how customer needs to be achieved by fair information practice (FIP). Earp et al. (2005) identified that all the privacy policies are meet the objectives of company’s viewpoint and not related from the customer’s side. Few literatures confirm that only a limited number of the population read and understand the privacy policies ( Meinert et al. , 2006 ) or people do not like or recognize privacy concern ( Awad and Krishnan, 2006 ). To derive value from individual data and to make the balance between consumers for privacy protection and the desire for dealing business led to the design of FIP standards.

The classification of literature is based on the level of analysis and the area of research has been done so far. Table 2 summarizes (journal articles) that very limited research has been done on information privacy (IP) at different levels. Individual, group and organization are the levels of information privacy been classified and defined by Skinner et al. (2006) . After then, Smith et al. (2011) uses four levels of analysis by adding a new societal level into the existing classification, and these levels are studied rigorously by following the previous research by Clark et al. (2007) . In Table 2 , it is found that information privacy been considered in various articles and few journal articles are found which counted more than one. Due to the availability of validated instruments, the individual level of study has been conducted sufficiently by collecting and analysing data from a huge number of individuals. Besides individual levels, we are not found sufficient literatures for other level of information privacy research. Table 2 reveals that several researches done at organizational level of study and that has been carried out in the area as information privacy practices. We have found that at the organizational level there are not much work has been done so far in IP research. With regards to e-business, organization always eager to know the impact of IP concern, which can influence a decisive achievement of the online business activity. We have found a very limited study has been done at group level IP research and researcher needs to focus more on these levels of study. Societal level is another level of approach where culture play a vital role in it. These approaches which give more in-depth information of different construct of privacy, and it varies differently in culture and various cultural values in different countries ( Milberg et al. , 2000 ). It is better to understand the information privacy of citizens in a standardized way because of the exponential growing appeal towards the corporation and government from a worldwide crowd. So, we cannot overlook the growing advent of societal effect in privacy research and researcher needs to give more attention towards the societal level of analysis. At societal level, it includes all the societal phenomenon with the group, organization and individuals in the IP level of analysis.

Individual level

The statement, right to be alone in the right to privacy, described as the right of a person to be alone by isolation from the attention of others ( Warren and Brandeis, 1890 ). Information privacy as an option to secrecy by that everyone has the right to restrict the information about themselves in public and where outsiders should not be encouraged to take advantage of it ( Posner, 1983 ). Privacy can be observed with autonomy ( Kufer, 1987 ), a segment closely associated with personhood. Privacy and autonomy ( Kufer, 1987 ), are segments closely associated with personhood. An independent self-concept explains oneself as a “purposeful, self-determining, responsible agent” and awareness of an individual to control the boundary and to control who may access and to what extent.

Information privacy attitude refers to the individual perceptions and reactions to the information policies, practices and tools and technologies. Privacy attitude includes preparedness to provide private data ( Dillon et al. , 2008 ). The main issues of privacy attitude are mentioned as each study conceptualizes the attitude differently, and some case it is focused towards privacy in general ( Razzouk et al. , 2008 ). Cao and Everard (2008) explained attitude can be used as dependent variables and in some cases, privacy attitude can be independent variables that used for preserving influence on behaviours and capability of adaptation of new technology towards information sharing's ( Alge et al. , 2006 ; Thiesse, 2007 ; Webster, 1998 ). There are some finding of the attitude toward the privacy concern is that transparent information practices to be established to organize and manage the data security, and it will be protected enough that people automatically shared information through online by the faith and trust attribute ( Culnan and Armstrong, 1999 ).

Information privacy practice refers to organizational as well as individual actions about the protection of privacy with various interdependent factors which affect such privacy practices ( Belanger and Crossler, 2011 ). There is some information that falsifying personal data and forcing towards deleting unwanted work attributes comes under individual privacy practice ( Chen and Rea, 2004 ). There are some factors which affect privacy practices, include the different types of websites viewed and the originality of a site ( Hsu, 2006 ). Sometimes, people may not know the actual practices they should follow when they are surfing on internet sites ( Klasnja et al. , 2009 ). Fair information practices (FIP) provide assessments to the policies that maintained in organizational practice. Jensen and Potts (2004) explained and some corresponding literature reveals that some companies do not give appropriate information about their privacy protection policies. In this case, consumers are not in a good mood to share their private information due to the lack of privacy protection policies. Some companies do not have such a policy when they comply with fair information practice standard ( Liu and Arnett, 2002 ; Ryker et al. , 2002 ).

Information privacy tools and technologies ( Belanger and Crossler, 2011 ) research refers to the use of technological advancement on the evaluation of information privacy in a different dimension. Information privacy tools and techniques deal with privacy threats. There is research on tools and technologies which organization used to follow to abstract the privacy information of customers through the utilization of spyware and adware ( Dobosz et al. , 2006 ), to violate on consumers’ information privacy, and trust is another factor which seals organizations ( Moores and Dhillon, 2003 ) used to protect information privacy of consumers.

Group level

In groups, the privacy information shared among the group members and outside. Researchers have found certain factors which influence group performance when it comes to privacy concerns. The factors are trust, fears, willingness and faithfulness, which influence the group dynamics behaviour among the members of the group. Information privacy on group behaviour is different from users from one group to another. In a group, when a person is trying to interact, privacy is becoming a constraint for the person ( Westin, 1968 ). Nov and Wattal (2009) explained how an individual shows interest when trying to disclose private information in different group cultures and characteristics. Individual within a group is a core component when taken for analysis ( Morgeson and Hofmann, 1999 ), and different groups also consisting of specific structures, constructs and identity ( Watson-Manheim and Belanger, 2002 ). Watson-Manheim and Belanger (2007) defined that how technologies can be enhanced within groups with privacy policies to curbed the communication within the groups. Floridi (2017) defined group dynamics is the external factor concern which represents different variables like group distribution, group significance, group cohesion or group characteristics like size. Loi and Christen (2019) introduced two concepts in group privacy. They explained what confidential information shared with the group members and restrict to outside members. Furthermore, they clarified the inferential privacy where it manages the derivations that can be made about a group of individuals characterized by highlight, common by all person in a group. They contend that inferential privacy is unpersuasive to both of individual or group.

Organizational level

In the case of an organization, its policy dictates how the data is maintained. Organizational privacy ( Smith et al. , 1996 ) concern refers to the information which is confidential and not disclosed to the public. Government organizations, corporates and private societies are adopting various alternatives to maintain data confidentiality and keep data in a secret form and restricting to give access to unwanted purpose. Organizational privacy concerns mainly represented by organizational leaders. Organizational leaders have access permission to those sources of information where privacy concern of individual also linked ( Belanger and Crossler, 2011 ). Those concerns mainly arise from management privacy practices and related policies.

Societal level

Human beings are social by nature, who cannot survive without social co-operation and other association. In a society, there are lots of online platforms available where people are engaging themselves to interact among themselves ( Alashoor et al. , 2017 ). They execute the command themselves to share their personal information either knowingly or unknowingly. However, some users are not known such type of concern at all when such information shared at the public domain in a bounded society ( Spottswood and Hancock, 2017 ; Black et al. , 2015 ). Researchers also find that critical dimensions like own willingness, ability, preferences and openness, which are related to privacy concern at individual levels ( Belanger and Crossler, 2011 ). As government and corporations are appealing more on the public interface, and they should give proper attention in favour of citizen-centric culture, employees of organization and consumers about the privacy concern.

Issue s/ barriers in information privacy

The increase in sharing information may lead to, in some ways, breaches in privacy. The state of privacy ( Hughes, 2012 ) defined in different types of barriers in privacy concern. They are mainly physical, behavioural and normative. Physical barriers are the touchable observation of personal assets which restrict access from others. Behavioural barriers are maintaining privacy while communicating verbally or non-verbally. Normative barriers present laws and social norms that limit a person from intruding into the private life of others. Privacy has largely one of the ethical, social and legal issues in this digital world ( Culnan and Bies, 2003 ). Angst and Agarwal (2009) defined that due to the huge utilization of internet technology and gathering of personal information, there are new challenges come to picture and it leads to information privacy concern. Also, people expected higher government involvement concern ( Dinev et al. , 2006a ), but a weak relation in use of e-business and privacy concern are observed ( Dinev et al. , 2006b ). Some companies give accurate data related to privacy concerns, but some refuse to give private information to the government ( Sydell, 2006 ). The questions arise why such distinct behaviour of two companies within the same specific country. Some cases, individuals and organizations become contradictory to each other with respect to privacy. For example, if we take e-commerce transactions where a consumer desired that his/her information is to be used only for the transactions what they opted for. But in reality, the personal information has been used by the e-commerce website without known to the consumers. In this case, consumers’ behaviour becomes unrealistic and creating a conflicting nature towards the organization and raise concern to privacy.

Conclusion and future directions of our research

This paper has limited itself to studying a part of the available literature on privacy concern in an information system. A more detailed overview can examine the same by increasing the number of articles with the specific domain application model included in the review. Research needs to focus on whether privacy concern is more as generality across the globe, or it is concerned with specified cultural domain and researchers to provide more testable results. Information system researchers need to investigate more on privacy concern in different countries. Research can also focus on various countries, how organization and individual relate together for the concerns for information privacy. Investigation can focus on why information privacy policy and protection laws are different for different companies in the same country. Due to the increase in usage of information technology, it becomes a challenge for keeping the information update concerning the stakeholder’s privacy and security concern and how it can be managed suitably.

Future research could be to find out the privacy attitude and privacy concerns for within and between organizations. It needs to extract, how the business model enhanced to measure the privacy. Future studies can be explored with wide range of diversity like age, gender, income rather to student centric data. Students are keener to open towards their data rather than a professional. How can this be relating to privacy that affect adverse to the study. Other types of organization beyond e-commerce sites, such as government organizations, need to be investigated to extend the study further on privacy policy, privacy policy and protection. A great deal of research has been covered the individual level of analysis of privacy concern. Group concern for information privacy is a potentially fascinating and fruitful area for future research. How and what types of designed tools can be used to protect the concern towards privacy in a group where all the members are communicating with each other. Researchers have tried little research on group, organizational and societal level analysis. A multilevel analysis approach will lead in future research to adhere better insight that how different level of analysis can be enhanced.

Overview of information privacy at different stakeholder’s levels

Profiles the definitions of information privacy concern

Classification of literature on level of analysis

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Further reading

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Home — Essay Samples — Information Science and Technology — Internet — The Importance of Internet Privacy

The Importance of Internet Privacy

• Categories: Internet Internet Privacy

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Words: 1017 |

Published: Oct 2, 2020

Words: 1017 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, threats to personal data and privacy, legal and ethical considerations, protecting your digital sanctuary, works cited.

• Strong Passwords: Employ strong, unique passwords for online accounts and consider using a password manager to securely store and manage them.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Enable 2FA whenever possible to add an additional layer of security to your online accounts.
• Mindful Sharing: Be cautious about the personal information you share online, especially on social media platforms. Review and adjust privacy settings to control who can access your data.
• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs): Utilize VPNs to encrypt your internet connection, making it more difficult for third parties to monitor your online activities.
• Regular Software Updates: Keep your operating system, browser, and security software up to date to protect against vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cybercriminals.
• Stay Informed: Stay informed about the latest threats and best practices for online privacy. Knowledge is a powerful defense against potential threats.
• Brown, M. (2018). Facebook is watching and tracking you more than you probably realize. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-is-tracking-you-through-apps-and-websites-2018-4
• Debatin, B., Lovejoy, J.P., Horn, A-K., & Hughes, B.N. (2009). Facebook and online privacy: Attitudes, behaviors, and unintended consequences. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15(1), 83-108.
• National Conference of State Legislatures. (2019). Security breach notification laws. https://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/security-breach-notification-laws.aspx
• Online Privacy (2018). Peggy J. Parks. Greenhaven Publishing LLC.
• Pew Research Center. (2021). Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet.
• Rosenbach, M., & Stolte, J. (2018). Can you have both security and privacy in the internet age? Harvard Business Review.
• Soltani, A. (2010). Why privacy matters: Debunking the nothing-to-hide argument. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 57(3), B26.
• Statista. (2022). Number of internet users worldwide from 2005 to 2021 (in millions). https://www.statista.com/statistics/273018/number-of-internet-users-worldwide/
• Winston & Strawn. (2017). Internet Privacy: An Overview of Federal Law. Lexology.
• Zavodny, M. (2017). Why does online privacy matter? Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

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Acute essay topics on internet privacy: 20 expert suggestions.

Internet privacy is a very important topic nowadays. Many people are afraid that they’re watched by the government through the Internet and these suspicions aren’t always baseless. If your teacher assigned you to write an essay on Internet privacy, there are many narrow topics that you may choose from.

Topics on Internet Privacy

• The history of Internet privacy.
• Levels of Internet privacy.
• Risks to Internet privacy.
• Internet privacy and HTTP cookies.
• Device fingerprinting and Internet privacy.
• Photos in social networks and Internet privacy.
• Search engines and Internet privacy.
• Reducing the risks to Internet privacy.
• Real life implications related to Internet privacy.
• Global policies about Internet privacy.
• User-generated content and Internet privacy costs.
• Internet privacy and social media.
• Effects of privacy seals and warnings on online privacy behavior.
• Damages for Internet privacy violations.
• Internet privacy and politics.
• The installment of malware on your computer by major companies.
• The lack of regulation in Internet privacy.
• Internet privacy and intellectual property.
• Weak passwords and Internet privacy.
• The future of Internet privacy.

Writing an Essay

A good topic isn’t enough to get an excellent mark for your work. You should conduct thorough research and present your points or arguments properly. Ask your teacher about sources that you should use to succeed. Acquire these sources and find there, at least, three points that can support your main idea. It’s important to defend your statements using factual evidence rather than just your opinion. Before you start writing your paper, it’s advisable to make a good outline. This will help you structure your text properly. Compose your essay using appropriate writing techniques and transitions between paragraphs to make your text flow smoothly. Proofread your paper to eliminate errors made during the process of writing. Come up with your title after your paper has been complete to make it 100% relevant to the text.

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Ethical Issues of Internet Privacy Research Paper

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Methodology

Introduction, observation, analysis of observation, works cited.

There are various methods of collecting data in research. Some of the methods include the use of interview schedules, where respondents are asked questions and the respondents respond directly while the researcher records the answers. The use of questionnaires is also another method. This is where the researcher drafts questions on paper and distributes them to the respondents so as to answer them. This can either be mail questionnaire whereby questions are mailed to the concerned respondents and they answer them and mail back to the researcher. This however is not a reliable way of collecting data. The letters can get lost on the way or misplaced and may not reach the intended persons. It is also the most expensive method of collecting data since the researcher has to attach stamps which will be used to email back the respondent’s answers. If the researcher does not attach the stamps the respondents would not likely spend his money on another person’s work.

Direct questionnaire is another method where the researchers distribute to the respondents and wait to be filled and collect them for analysis. It is the best method though the respondents may not be willing to fill in the blank spaces. Some of the respondents might be illiterate or have no time to fill the questions asked. It is also an expensive method because the researcher has to print the questions to be asked. Another method of data collection is observation method. It is the most convenient method of collecting data. This is because the researcher does not have to bother anybody when conducting a research. This involves behaviors being observed by researcher and recorded. It does not involve direct contact with the respondents. The researcher establishes the target population where research will be conducted. Every activity that takes place is observed by the researcher (Salehnia, p. 158).

A research was conducted concerning ethical issues of internet privacy. This consists of individuals using internet in a confidential way. It involves not exposing so much information about oneself through the internet. It has become great concern for people to be sensitized on the importance to keep their information private when using the internet services. This involves being private on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and many other chat services. The information of individuals should not be revealed so much. This is done in order to discourage internet crimes. The personal information which is provided should be protected.

This is done by implementing various policies on the information privacy. Personal information should not be used for anything either for criminal intentions or not without his/her consent. This personal information may include bank details and employment details. It may also include health and other personal details. Hackers normally get their way to this information. They then use this information to commit crimes and for malicious purposes. They can attack specific persons using the illegally obtain details. This causes people to fear using certain sites. They fear performing transactions on shopping websites (Kizza, p. 97).

This is because they do not want to send their credit card numbers and other information over the web. Therefore authentication should be done to ensure that only authorized users of any system are allowed. Measures should therefore be put in place to ensure that the private information is transmitted securely. This is to make sure that the information is not intercepted or interrupted. Mailing history can be used to track the activities of company employees. Most the companies use employee monitoring systems. This system keeps a log of all activities performed by each employee. This intrudes on their privacy because even their personal emails are traced. An IP masking software can be used to prevent these intrusions.

A research was conducted in a college setting. It is a social institution where different people behave differently. It’s a college where all the students are in session. There are those who are studying different courses ranging from diplomas, degrees, masters and PhDs. Studies were going on well and everybody is going on with their chores as usual. Some students are running up and down to make sure that they do not miss their classes. Observation method was chosen because it is the simplest method to use hence it would be easier and faster to get the data needed. It also enables the researcher to get first-hand information hence there is no need to rely on others to get the data. Though it also has various demerits to the researcher, it was the best method to use. Some of its demerits include: its time consuming & requires small sample which may not actually give accurate results (Azari, p. 178).

However despite the demerits the researcher was able to overcome them by making sure that he gets the accurate answers as possible and uses the shortest time skillfully. Observation was seen to be the best method of collecting data because it was a school setting where students from different backgrounds were in attendance. The research was carried out in the computer laboratory. The reason why the researcher chose to conduct his research in the computer lab is to enable him to collect data that is relevant to the topic. It is also a place where you can find most of the students and everybody concentrates on whatever they are doing. The researcher cannot be found easily by the students in the computer lab. Students attend labs at intervals because the students are in the lessons differently at different times. The timetable is different for students hence when they are free they attend labs to do their classwork and others browse in different social sites.

The researcher sat on one of the computers in the lab in order to get good climes of what the students are doing in the lab. Everybody was busy in the lab and all the eyes were on the computer. The lab is very quiet but the sounds of some people murmuring were evident. The people in the lab consist of students only. An outsider or anybody who is not a student is not allowed to enter the computer lab unless he/she possesses a college identity card. Since the researcher is not a student in the college, he had to seek permission from the college administration and was granted. The desktops are wide about 17inches wide hence any other person can access what the other person is doing. The computers are in straight rows (Himma, p. 142).

The computer lab is very large and accommodates up to two hundred students. All students have their own computers but some of them share maybe because they were working on research and two of them have to consult. Not all of the computers are occupied but at times they are almost full. The seats in the lab are made of leather but some of them are broken on the backside. The air conditioners generate good fresh air which enables students to be active and not dumpy. And the place smelt nice though.

The researcher observed that the students in the computer lab do various things in the library. The students are of different ages. Some are aged between 19 years old to 45 years approximately. But the majority of students are youths who are partaking in undergraduate studies. Some of the older students are studying the master programs’ or even PhDs. The researcher also observed that the majority of students attend computer labs for social networking. Majority of the students were smiling as they type on the keyboard, which is a clear indication that they are chatting with some people. The assumption the researcher made because a person cannot smile when doing some serious class assignment. While those people of older age are involved in doing some research on the classwork by the seriousness in their faces. It is also shown by the way they are involved in taking short notes from the computer.

The researcher also observed that majority of those in the labs in terms of gender are ladies and they were Christians by the look of mode dress. However there were Muslims who wore scuffs and Muslim gears but in minimal number. Most of the students wore casual wear. This includes the jeans and t-shirts. Majority of ladies also wore trousers and minority wore skirts. Where students imitate one another in the way they wear clothes. Fashion in wear seems to be considered seriously in the college. All the students try to dress to impress especially those on youthful stage. Older people seemed to wear official wear. Some of them put on their ties which is a sign of some of them holding working jobs and only coming to class on part-time basis (Stair, Reynold and Reynolds, p. 109).

All the students appear to be white in terms of race but there were a minimal number of African American students. In about an hour when the researcher was in the library, he noticed that most of the students who are using computers did not mind hiding the information being displayed on the desktop. In fact he noticed one of the students who were shopping online who did not mind hiding her credit numbers. The numbers could be assessed easily. This is because they could not adhere to internet privacy or they have no idea of what they were getting themselves into. The researcher also found out that most students do not log off their social networking sites. Some could find out that their class time was over and they would rush to their class forgetting to end whatever they were doing on the computer.

The researcher also found out that the students of the same age sitting next to each other. He observed one of the students who were friends requesting another one to move to another chair to sit next to his friend. The lab technician was also keener in watching out those who were consulting loudly. It was discovered that middle-aged men were requested at most times to lower their voices more than ladies and older men. In fact, at one point two male students were sent outside for being rude to the lab technician. This however shows that boys were ruder than girls even though girls were more in the computer lab than boys.

Since the middle-aged students outnumbered the older students, focus of the study will only be based on the majority of the students. Analysis will focus on gender, socialization, social learning and ethnicity. Men and women tend to regroup together and do most of the things when they are together. As found out by the researcher, ladies tend to share most of the things when they were browsing in the computer lab. This however enables them to learn from each other in terms of learning and daily activities in school. It was also found out that ladies are the ones who forget most to log off their computers. This however shows that degree to which women tend to forget than men are higher.

The students tend to learn more through peer group socialization. This is seen in terms of fashion in which students tend to wear. Most of the clothes which they wear tend to be the same. Peer group socialization can either lead one to be good or take up bad morals depending on which type of peers we associate with. A group of bodies who were chased away by the lab technicians has learned bad behavior either from one of themselves. The students also learn behaviors through social learning process. This is where individuals learn behaviors through friends they communicate either through social networking on the internet. Some have learned about social sites on the computer through being demonstrated to by their friends. College is a social institution where different students from different backgrounds meet and share various ideas. In the process of being together some students are re-socialized and they learn behaviors that were not in the family institution. The institutional norms enable the students to respect one another and therefore bring order to the college. This is mostly displayed in the computer lab where students are orderly (Kimmel, p. 75).

The college rules also shape the behaviors of the students in the school. Rules act as social control tool which helps shape the behaviors of human beings. Durkheim argued that human being is a social animal and they are bound to make mistakes. There should be rules put in place to guide the behaviors of that individual. Various students have not learned the ethical issues of internet privacy. Internet crimes take place every day because people do not know this policy. However, college students need to be taught more about the importance of keeping the information that reveals much about them to be kept more secret. The researcher’s observation also reveals that people of the same age tend to share various ideas in terms of mode of dress and the way they imitate one another. The people we associate with and those we come across every day shape our behaviors greatly. People behave differently in the presence of others. Behaviors also are observed in society through a way of modeling. We try to imitate our models and in the process, we take up their habits.

• Azari, Rasool. Current security management and ethical issues of information technology . Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI), 2003.
• Himma, Einar. Internet security: hacking, counterhacking, and society . Sudbury: Jones& Bartlett Learning, 2007.
• Kimmel, Allan J. Ethical issues in behavioral research: basic and applied perspectives . 4th ed. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007.
• Kizza, Joseph Migga. Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age . 4th ed. New York: Springer, 2010.
• Salehnia, Ali. Ethical issues of information systems . Hershey: Idea Group Inc (IGI), 2002.
• Stair, Ralph, Reynolds George, and Reynolds George W. Fundamentals of Information Systems . 5th ed. New York: Cengage Learning, 2008.
• Collecting and Using Personal Data
• Europa Labs Company's Undesirable Effects and Interventions
• Information System Management at Med-Lab Company
• Pros and Cons of Censorship of Pornography
• Utilitarian and Deontological Reasoning
• Ethics and Mask Connection
• Money: Good or Evil? Comparing & Contrasting
• Justice and Ethical Responsibility in Society
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IvyPanda. (2021, December 25). Ethical Issues of Internet Privacy. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ethical-issues-of-internet-privacy/

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IvyPanda . 2021. "Ethical Issues of Internet Privacy." December 25, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ethical-issues-of-internet-privacy/.

1. IvyPanda . "Ethical Issues of Internet Privacy." December 25, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ethical-issues-of-internet-privacy/.

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Online Privacy & Security

Key findings about americans and data privacy.

71% of adults say they are very or somewhat concerned about how the government uses the data it collects about them, up from 64% in 2019.

How Americans View Data Privacy

The share of Americans who say they are very or somewhat concerned about government use of people’s data has increased from 64% in 2019 to 71% today. Two-thirds (67%) of adults say they understand little to nothing about what companies are doing with their personal data, up from 59%.

What Americans Know About AI, Cybersecurity and Big Tech

Americans’ understanding of digital topics varies notably depending on the subject. For example, majorities of U.S. adults know what cookies on websites do and can identify a secure password, but far fewer can recognize an example of two-factor authentication.

Quiz: Test your knowledge of digital topics

Test your knowledge of digital topics and terms by taking our nine-question quiz. Then, compare your score with knowledge measured among the American public.

Majority of Americans say TikTok is a threat to national security

About six-in-ten Americans (59%) see TikTok as a major or minor threat to national security in the United States.

As AI Spreads, Experts Predict the Best and Worst Changes in Digital Life by 2035

As they watch the splashy emergence of generative artificial intelligence and an array of other AI applications, experts participating in a new Pew Research Center canvassing say they have deep concerns about people’s and society’s overall well-being. At the same time, they expect to see great benefits in health care, scientific advances and education

The Future of Human Agency

Experts are split about how much control people will retain over essential decision-making as digital systems and artificial intelligence spread. They agree that powerful corporate and government authorities will expand the role of AI in people’s daily lives in useful ways. But, many worry these systems will diminish individuals’ ability to control their choices.

How Black Americans view the use of face recognition technology by police

Black Americans are critical of key aspects of policing and criminal justice. But their views on face recognition technology are more nuanced.

AI and Human Enhancement: Americans’ Openness Is Tempered by a Range of Concerns

Public views are tied to how these technologies would be used and what constraints would be in place.

Visions of the Internet in 2035

Asked to “imagine a better world online,” experts hope for a ubiquitous – even immersive – digital environment that promotes fact-based knowledge, offers better defense of individuals’ rights, empowers diverse voices and provides tools for technology breakthroughs and collaborations to solve the world’s wicked problems.

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This document presents the findings from the University of Queensland (UQ) component of the November 2011 Dual Frame Omnibus Survey, conducted by the Social Research Centre. The aim of the UQ research is to explore the Australian communities understanding of and attitudes towards online privacy.

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Broadband Internet Access, Economic Growth, and Wellbeing

Between 2000 and 2008, access to high-speed, broadband internet grew significantly in the United States, but there is debate on whether access to high-speed internet improves or harms wellbeing. We find that a ten percent increase in the proportion of county residents with access to broadband internet leads to a 1.01 percent reduction in the number of suicides in a county, as well as improvements in self-reported mental and physical health. We further find that this reduction in suicide deaths is likely due to economic improvements in counties that have access to broadband internet. Counties with increased access to broadband internet see reductions in poverty rate and unemployment rate. In addition, zip codes that gain access to broadband internet see increases in the numbers of employees and establishments. In addition, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effects are concentrated in the working age population, those between 25 and 64 years old. This pattern is precisely what is predicted by the literature linking economic conditions to suicide risk.

We are grateful to participants at the Association of Public Policy and Management and the Washington Area Labor Symposium conferences for their helpful comments. Any errors or conclusions are our own. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

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RIGHT TO PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION UNDER INDIAN LEGAL REGIME

DME Journal of Law, Volume 1, 2020, available at, https://dmejl.dme.ac.in/article/bandita-das/

21 Pages Posted: 19 Apr 2021

Jayanta Boruah

North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU)

Bandita Das

Independent.

Date Written: March 16, 2021

Privacy has emerged as a basic human right across the globe and in India too it has been recognized as a Fundamental Right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Right to Privacy is closely related to the protection of data which in this technological and globalized world, has become very difficult to achieve. Further, violation of privacy rights by the Ruling majority through discriminatory legislation has also become possible due to lack of legal protection to this Right. In India, this Right was not initially recognized as a Fundamental Right, neither any specific law on data protection for securing the Rights of Privacy of the citizens was enacted. At the same time, there had been many allegations regarding violation of privacy rights both by the Government as well as by the Private Commercial Entities from time to time in India. Such allegations were also placed before the Courts of Law where the Courts had given landmark Judgements including guidelines and rulings. It thus becomes very important to analyze all these legal developments relating to the Right to Privacy and Data Protection to understand the extent of security granted by the Indian legal framework to the citizens over Right to Privacy. It has however been found that adequate recognition has been given to the Right to Privacy by the Indian Legal Regime and therefore significant steps were taken to prevent data theft and misutilization of sensitive information, yet a major extent of progressive developments is still needed to enhance the scope of data protection in the contemporary times for securing the Right to Privacy of the Indian citizens.

Keywords: Privacy; Data Protection; Personal Information; Sensitive Information; Confidentiality; and Public Interest

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Jayanta Boruah (Contact Author)

North-eastern hill university (nehu) ( email ).

Meghalaya India

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The Internet Privacy (Essay/Paper Sample)

Table of Contents

The Internet Privacy

Internet privacy entails securing personal data that is published on the internet. This kind of privacy encompasses safeguarding of sensitive and private information, data, preferences, and communications. In the current cyberspace, different people have raised complaints regarding loss of personal information whenever they do online transactions, visit social media sites, and participate in online games as well as attending forums. In such circumstances, many people exhibit incidences of compromised passwords, the revelation of victims’ identities, and fraud. Such privacy issues come as a result of negligence by the users or website developers who do not comply with the regulations and standards that curb privacy violation. Thus, internet privacy is under threat due to the inability of the internet service providers who have no explicit permission to gain access or share confidential information. This essay presents a discussion of internet privacy and how online users fall victims due to increased vulnerability of online security.

Internet privacy is a paradoxical and difficult to understand. People are aware of their behaviors online and are bound to use strong passwords when before accessing their own accounts. In the same note, users are supposed to log out their own accounts when ceasing access to the internet so that they leave it safe and secure from intruders. However, regardless of such knowledge and clear understanding of the privacy policy, they do not bother. Instead, they lament of the increased vulnerability due to such negligence. On a separate note, people tend to care about protecting their personal information and normally feel insecure when issuing it on the internet. Therefore, this behavior brings about privacy paradox since they are unable to gain control of their own digital information.

Internet privacy faces numerous risks that include phishing that encompasses hacking activities that are used to obtain secured information, usernames, passwords, security PIN, credit card numbers and bank account numbers. Furthermore, users have been under attack through pharming which covers redirection of legitimate website users to a new and different IP address. Others include the use of offline applications that get information without user’s consent. In such circumstances, a computer that is online can be accessed to get the previously acquired data that is sent to the spyware source. On a separate note, there is a rise in the usage of malware which allows an illegal damage of computers both online and offline through application viruses, Trojan, and spyware.

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In addition to the above measures, users should always keep their operating systems and windows up to date to avoid vulnerability. A rise in software vulnerability is enhanced through the use of outdated systems. This increases loopholes for cyber criminals. For example, Flash and Java are normally vulnerable to security threats hence expose their users to cyber attacks. On the same note, users should avoid accessing free Wi-Fi networks since such networks are used by hackers with network sniffers that retrieve crucial information. Lastly, users should always update and change their privacy settings on regular basis.

In conclusion, the essay has elaborated on internet privacy based on the different risks and vulnerability that users are facing besides highlighting the different measures that should be put in place. However, reduction of vulnerability of internet privacy begins with the user’s behavior regarding internet usage. Users should incorporate all the measures and should be careful when revealing their personal information online. Lastly, users should be aware of their privacy rights and should fight for such rights especially in cases when breaches occur.

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Title: gpt-4 technical report.

Abstract: We report the development of GPT-4, a large-scale, multimodal model which can accept image and text inputs and produce text outputs. While less capable than humans in many real-world scenarios, GPT-4 exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks, including passing a simulated bar exam with a score around the top 10% of test takers. GPT-4 is a Transformer-based model pre-trained to predict the next token in a document. The post-training alignment process results in improved performance on measures of factuality and adherence to desired behavior. A core component of this project was developing infrastructure and optimization methods that behave predictably across a wide range of scales. This allowed us to accurately predict some aspects of GPT-4's performance based on models trained with no more than 1/1,000th the compute of GPT-4.

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The state of AI in early 2024: Gen AI adoption spikes and starts to generate value

If 2023 was the year the world discovered generative AI (gen AI) , 2024 is the year organizations truly began using—and deriving business value from—this new technology. In the latest McKinsey Global Survey  on AI, 65 percent of respondents report that their organizations are regularly using gen AI, nearly double the percentage from our previous survey just ten months ago. Respondents’ expectations for gen AI’s impact remain as high as they were last year , with three-quarters predicting that gen AI will lead to significant or disruptive change in their industries in the years ahead.

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Alex Singla , Alexander Sukharevsky , Lareina Yee , and Michael Chui , with Bryce Hall , representing views from QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and McKinsey Digital.

Organizations are already seeing material benefits from gen AI use, reporting both cost decreases and revenue jumps in the business units deploying the technology. The survey also provides insights into the kinds of risks presented by gen AI—most notably, inaccuracy—as well as the emerging practices of top performers to mitigate those challenges and capture value.

AI adoption surges

Interest in generative AI has also brightened the spotlight on a broader set of AI capabilities. For the past six years, AI adoption by respondents’ organizations has hovered at about 50 percent. This year, the survey finds that adoption has jumped to 72 percent (Exhibit 1). And the interest is truly global in scope. Our 2023 survey found that AI adoption did not reach 66 percent in any region; however, this year more than two-thirds of respondents in nearly every region say their organizations are using AI. 1 Organizations based in Central and South America are the exception, with 58 percent of respondents working for organizations based in Central and South America reporting AI adoption. Looking by industry, the biggest increase in adoption can be found in professional services. 2 Includes respondents working for organizations focused on human resources, legal services, management consulting, market research, R&D, tax preparation, and training.

Also, responses suggest that companies are now using AI in more parts of the business. Half of respondents say their organizations have adopted AI in two or more business functions, up from less than a third of respondents in 2023 (Exhibit 2).

Gen AI adoption is most common in the functions where it can create the most value

Most respondents now report that their organizations—and they as individuals—are using gen AI. Sixty-five percent of respondents say their organizations are regularly using gen AI in at least one business function, up from one-third last year. The average organization using gen AI is doing so in two functions, most often in marketing and sales and in product and service development—two functions in which previous research  determined that gen AI adoption could generate the most value 3 “ The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier ,” McKinsey, June 14, 2023. —as well as in IT (Exhibit 3). The biggest increase from 2023 is found in marketing and sales, where reported adoption has more than doubled. Yet across functions, only two use cases, both within marketing and sales, are reported by 15 percent or more of respondents.

Gen AI also is weaving its way into respondents’ personal lives. Compared with 2023, respondents are much more likely to be using gen AI at work and even more likely to be using gen AI both at work and in their personal lives (Exhibit 4). The survey finds upticks in gen AI use across all regions, with the largest increases in Asia–Pacific and Greater China. Respondents at the highest seniority levels, meanwhile, show larger jumps in the use of gen Al tools for work and outside of work compared with their midlevel-management peers. Looking at specific industries, respondents working in energy and materials and in professional services report the largest increase in gen AI use.

Investments in gen AI and analytical AI are beginning to create value

The latest survey also shows how different industries are budgeting for gen AI. Responses suggest that, in many industries, organizations are about equally as likely to be investing more than 5 percent of their digital budgets in gen AI as they are in nongenerative, analytical-AI solutions (Exhibit 5). Yet in most industries, larger shares of respondents report that their organizations spend more than 20 percent on analytical AI than on gen AI. Looking ahead, most respondents—67 percent—expect their organizations to invest more in AI over the next three years.

Where are those investments paying off? For the first time, our latest survey explored the value created by gen AI use by business function. The function in which the largest share of respondents report seeing cost decreases is human resources. Respondents most commonly report meaningful revenue increases (of more than 5 percent) in supply chain and inventory management (Exhibit 6). For analytical AI, respondents most often report seeing cost benefits in service operations—in line with what we found last year —as well as meaningful revenue increases from AI use in marketing and sales.

Inaccuracy: The most recognized and experienced risk of gen AI use

As businesses begin to see the benefits of gen AI, they’re also recognizing the diverse risks associated with the technology. These can range from data management risks such as data privacy, bias, or intellectual property (IP) infringement to model management risks, which tend to focus on inaccurate output or lack of explainability. A third big risk category is security and incorrect use.

Respondents to the latest survey are more likely than they were last year to say their organizations consider inaccuracy and IP infringement to be relevant to their use of gen AI, and about half continue to view cybersecurity as a risk (Exhibit 7).

Conversely, respondents are less likely than they were last year to say their organizations consider workforce and labor displacement to be relevant risks and are not increasing efforts to mitigate them.

In fact, inaccuracy— which can affect use cases across the gen AI value chain , ranging from customer journeys and summarization to coding and creative content—is the only risk that respondents are significantly more likely than last year to say their organizations are actively working to mitigate.

Some organizations have already experienced negative consequences from the use of gen AI, with 44 percent of respondents saying their organizations have experienced at least one consequence (Exhibit 8). Respondents most often report inaccuracy as a risk that has affected their organizations, followed by cybersecurity and explainability.

Our previous research has found that there are several elements of governance that can help in scaling gen AI use responsibly, yet few respondents report having these risk-related practices in place. 4 “ Implementing generative AI with speed and safety ,” McKinsey Quarterly , March 13, 2024. For example, just 18 percent say their organizations have an enterprise-wide council or board with the authority to make decisions involving responsible AI governance, and only one-third say gen AI risk awareness and risk mitigation controls are required skill sets for technical talent.

Bringing gen AI capabilities to bear

The latest survey also sought to understand how, and how quickly, organizations are deploying these new gen AI tools. We have found three archetypes for implementing gen AI solutions : takers use off-the-shelf, publicly available solutions; shapers customize those tools with proprietary data and systems; and makers develop their own foundation models from scratch. 5 “ Technology’s generational moment with generative AI: A CIO and CTO guide ,” McKinsey, July 11, 2023. Across most industries, the survey results suggest that organizations are finding off-the-shelf offerings applicable to their business needs—though many are pursuing opportunities to customize models or even develop their own (Exhibit 9). About half of reported gen AI uses within respondents’ business functions are utilizing off-the-shelf, publicly available models or tools, with little or no customization. Respondents in energy and materials, technology, and media and telecommunications are more likely to report significant customization or tuning of publicly available models or developing their own proprietary models to address specific business needs.

Respondents most often report that their organizations required one to four months from the start of a project to put gen AI into production, though the time it takes varies by business function (Exhibit 10). It also depends upon the approach for acquiring those capabilities. Not surprisingly, reported uses of highly customized or proprietary models are 1.5 times more likely than off-the-shelf, publicly available models to take five months or more to implement.

Gen AI high performers are excelling despite facing challenges

Gen AI is a new technology, and organizations are still early in the journey of pursuing its opportunities and scaling it across functions. So it’s little surprise that only a small subset of respondents (46 out of 876) report that a meaningful share of their organizations’ EBIT can be attributed to their deployment of gen AI. Still, these gen AI leaders are worth examining closely. These, after all, are the early movers, who already attribute more than 10 percent of their organizations’ EBIT to their use of gen AI. Forty-two percent of these high performers say more than 20 percent of their EBIT is attributable to their use of nongenerative, analytical AI, and they span industries and regions—though most are at organizations with less than $1 billion in annual revenue. The AI-related practices at these organizations can offer guidance to those looking to create value from gen AI adoption at their own organizations.

To start, gen AI high performers are using gen AI in more business functions—an average of three functions, while others average two. They, like other organizations, are most likely to use gen AI in marketing and sales and product or service development, but they’re much more likely than others to use gen AI solutions in risk, legal, and compliance; in strategy and corporate finance; and in supply chain and inventory management. They’re more than three times as likely as others to be using gen AI in activities ranging from processing of accounting documents and risk assessment to R&D testing and pricing and promotions. While, overall, about half of reported gen AI applications within business functions are utilizing publicly available models or tools, gen AI high performers are less likely to use those off-the-shelf options than to either implement significantly customized versions of those tools or to develop their own proprietary foundation models.

What else are these high performers doing differently? For one thing, they are paying more attention to gen-AI-related risks. Perhaps because they are further along on their journeys, they are more likely than others to say their organizations have experienced every negative consequence from gen AI we asked about, from cybersecurity and personal privacy to explainability and IP infringement. Given that, they are more likely than others to report that their organizations consider those risks, as well as regulatory compliance, environmental impacts, and political stability, to be relevant to their gen AI use, and they say they take steps to mitigate more risks than others do.

Gen AI high performers are also much more likely to say their organizations follow a set of risk-related best practices (Exhibit 11). For example, they are nearly twice as likely as others to involve the legal function and embed risk reviews early on in the development of gen AI solutions—that is, to “ shift left .” They’re also much more likely than others to employ a wide range of other best practices, from strategy-related practices to those related to scaling.

In addition to experiencing the risks of gen AI adoption, high performers have encountered other challenges that can serve as warnings to others (Exhibit 12). Seventy percent say they have experienced difficulties with data, including defining processes for data governance, developing the ability to quickly integrate data into AI models, and an insufficient amount of training data, highlighting the essential role that data play in capturing value. High performers are also more likely than others to report experiencing challenges with their operating models, such as implementing agile ways of working and effective sprint performance management.

About the research

The online survey was in the field from February 22 to March 5, 2024, and garnered responses from 1,363 participants representing the full range of regions, industries, company sizes, functional specialties, and tenures. Of those respondents, 981 said their organizations had adopted AI in at least one business function, and 878 said their organizations were regularly using gen AI in at least one function. To adjust for differences in response rates, the data are weighted by the contribution of each respondent’s nation to global GDP.

Alex Singla and Alexander Sukharevsky  are global coleaders of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and senior partners in McKinsey’s Chicago and London offices, respectively; Lareina Yee  is a senior partner in the Bay Area office, where Michael Chui , a McKinsey Global Institute partner, is a partner; and Bryce Hall  is an associate partner in the Washington, DC, office.

They wish to thank Kaitlin Noe, Larry Kanter, Mallika Jhamb, and Shinjini Srivastava for their contributions to this work.

This article was edited by Heather Hanselman, a senior editor in McKinsey’s Atlanta office.

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