Data Privacy · case: Cambridge Analytica

It is the problem of digital footprints belonging to the user being collected and used for other purposes without their consent and knowledge.

Personal data is the fuel of the digital economy. The value truly targeted in services offered for free is often the human data itself. Permissions given for a simple personality test or survey can turn into massive profiling networks in the background. This collected data is used to secretly map people’s vulnerabilities, fears, and tendencies.

Example: A seemingly innocent application secretly collecting the data of all the friends of the person who gave permission and selling it for political ad targeting.

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The Cambridge Analytica case showed that data privacy is not just a personal problem, but a systemic crisis affecting democratic processes. In this case, the data of millions of people was collected through an academic-purpose application on a platform, and this data was used without permission to produce micro-targeted political ads that would manipulate voter behavior. Turning data into a weapon with an intention far beyond the purpose for which it was collected proves how risky the surveillance architecture of digital platforms is. Privacy is not about having nothing to hide, it is the right to be able to control who knows what.