There is a general lack of awareness about privacy in public places, says Rajib Roy
SHILLONG’S CYBER cafes are abuzz with young people, chatting and emailing with their peers and friends. They are as net-savvy as their counterparts elsewhere but are perhaps shades less conversant with privacy issues. Many get caught in the lottery and e-bonanza traps.
Many net users Canvas spoke to overlook the terms and conditions while opening an email account or a social networking website before clicking ‘I agree’. Their take: “These privacy policies carry all the unwanted things. So why wasting time on them?”
Another common refrain is: “These privacy policies are so long that one needs hours to go through them and understand what they mean. For the service provider it is also to be seen if they can provide straightforward and easy-to-understand procedures because users will not spend money in cyber cafes to read policy manuals.”
Some have no qualms about sharing personal information on websites. “There is no awareness as most users get lured. It is after all a personal choice to share information but the police have issued guidelines in this regard from time to time and we too have displayed notices for the users to follow,” said Narendra Prasad, who runs a cyber café in the city.
Even experts say that privacy awareness in public places is minimal and quotes the finding of a study made by a group of researchers based at New Delhi’s Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology. “This study says that the respondents’ reaction to privacy is more about mobile phones and internet other than anything else. It is very much true in case of Meghalaya, where users are getting duped day after day,” said technocrat Lasterfield Syiemlieh.
Further informing about the study he said that regarding other privacy issues related to CCTV cameras in public places and establishments besides ban on clicking pictures in certain places, there is a huge unawareness. “It is so true if you apply it in case of Meghalaya where people hardly know privacy issues that concern the physical, territorial, work places, commercial establishments and other places. People here give their ATM pin to others for transaction, some even write ATM pin on the card holder,” he added.
He is echoed by Waiphang Dympep, a senior officer of a nationalized bank based in Jowai. Dympep said that lack of public awareness is also because of few or no CCTV cameras unlike in the metros. “Alertness will automatically increae once police start taking action against wrongdoers caught in the CCTV footage,” he said. He added that people, particularly in rural areas, should learn to be wary about dubious financial firms offering get-rich-quick schemes.
Jayasree Ganguly, an IT professor said it was ironic that a country known for information technology advancements was full of people ignorant about online security. “I have seen people not going through the privacy policy in websites and sharing their personal information without even trying to know the antecedents of those seeking information,” she said.
However, said academician Ashok Singh, awareness was high among users that one’s date of birth, pet name, house name, mother’s, father’s or close relative’s name should not form part of a password.