Data Availability Is For The Good of All In An Egalitarian Society || Hive Learners #W111E1 Prompt
We live in a world where data has become the basis for which life is lived. Government and private organisations depend on data that is available for necessary planning and policy formulation. Data ought to be made available for safety purposes and planning.
On the other hand however, individuals have rights that make them able to keep their personal valued data away from public space. One of such rights is privacy. This is a universal right and must not be broken. When this right is broken, it becomes an offence culpable under the ambit of the law.
There are however reasons why individual data can be kept inclinedestine.
Autonomy
This is the ability to divulge or have control over your own property, whether intellectual property or otherwise. As such, one should not be placed under any compulsion to share such information that is personal. As said elsewhere, this is a law that makes an individual protected by his/her own rights. Hence, when an individual is caught in the web of a criminal act, he loses the right to privacy.
Exploitation
But for the sake of people who exploit other people's data for selfish gains, data has become more valuable than money. Personal data is one of the valuable assets an individual can possess. For this reason, people should be allowed to handle their data themselves. Since there are different types of data, any data that does not pose a threat can be in the public but such data that involves our finances, health, and relationships are to be kept secret.
In the recent time, in my country Nigeria, for the fear of cyber attack, people's Bank Verification Number which is in the hands of the government and financial.institutions have leaked to the hands of internet fraudsters who now target their unsuspecting victims.
Personal Safety
Since our individual data contains sensitive information that ranges from bank information, security passcodes and health data, keeping these data can help safeguard us from fraudsters and theft.
Generally speaking, our data is not as safe as we think. Most of what we are still trying to keep away from the reach of the public is already in the public. For example, our health data is usually collected when we are processing admission into higher institutions of learning or trying to join the military and whatnot.
In the real sense, putting data in the hands of the authorities, both financial, education, health and public institutions is not a bad idea except for the excuse of individuals who now take the vulnerability to rob or blackmail the owners of such data.
When our data is in the hands of the government and other essential organisations it helps to foster the following.
• Social Service and Infrastructure:
With data of the citizens of a state, the government can plan and reform public utilities to meet up the current demand that needs to be met. Data helps to take the demography of a particular place and helps to formulate social services like toads, pipe borne water, electrification projects, police and so on. With adequate data collection, the government can also build more hospitals to take care of the geometric increase in population.
• Security of Lives and Property:
During the early 19th century whenachines were invented in the US and UK, slaves who used to work in farms were asked to go and they flooded the streets of these nations. Because the government did not consider putting measures in place to control the population of people in the rural and urban areas, the crime rate increased.
This is why data collection and availability is necessary to put security in place for the safety of all.
• Informed Policy Making: When the government has the right data, it would be easy to make decisions for all using the demographics.
In an egalitarian society where values are held higher than possessions, there isn't much secret in data. We hope that someday we shall get there where we place higher value on good attitudes than in gathering stolen wealth from public funds.
Thank you, @splinterboost
That's it.
If not for the funny human nature, there's absolutely no fear in government handling our data.
Yes. In a nutshell, the data that we think is safe with us is already in hands of some individuals.
Exactly!
We are being watched 😅
We hope such data can be used for social improvement rather than exploitation. It's scary enough to know that almost all our lives are in the hands of the government
The human greedy nature has abused what ought to be a privilege for all. It's so saddening.
God help us all (Amen)
Whether we like it or not, our data is going to be out there, and so as much as it is important to us, it is important to the government as well, cause they have to know the kind of people they have in their country.
Our data is like an instrument for calculation, the government cannot but have it.
Exactly
If only we had people of integrity in the government and other organizations, there would have been a bit of assurance that our data is safe. As it is, anyone can perform any activity using other people's data. At times it's scary. Even our BVN is unsafe with the bank and other organizations where they are used.
We keep hoping not to fall victim.
It's unfortunate to be in such a world where people are only determined to scam or cheat you because they have one or two data of yours.
It's really unfortunate and it's difficult to track them.