A Searchable database of peoples online comments

With recent events in America, one element that has started to emerge that seemed worth writing about, was the creation of a searchable 'database'. This database contains all the details of those people who have publicly celebrated the tragic shooting of a man who was there to debate alternate points of view.

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with his viewpoints, I would agree that celebrating a murder of someone who was there to talk - is a tragedy no matter what side of the political spectrum you are on.

This article, however, is about the question - "Is the response of creating a database of people celebrating this, along with work information and potentially other data a bit of a danger zone? "

How about the people who are then forwarding this information to employers?

In this article we will run through a brief outline of considerations around this.

Is the data considered private?

As we should all be aware, anything posted on the internet is not overly safe, especially when you are posting on social media. Remember the key word there - SOCIAL - meaning its the same as talking in public. You are entitled to free speech (in many countries) but that does not mean you are free from the consequences if people take exception to what you are saying. People can use these words against you and in this day and age - you should consider that it will happen rather than it flying under the radar.

What about if it was posted from my private account and only my friends have access?

Then it's the same thing, if your friends leak the information from social media then you are still unlikely to have a good case that it was said in private as it's still on the social media platform. If however, it was leaked from a Direct Message (DM) - then this is where it would be wrong of me to comment as lawyers may be able to make certain cases in certain countries. However I would argue that anything said on these platforms is likely to leak, this is why Government agencies try to restrict chatting about sensitive work from these platforms as they lose control of the data.

What about publishing my data in a database?

Well if this data is already out in the public domain by your own choices (ie - it was not leaked in a cyber security incident etc.) then that is just someone collecting your freely available data. This is not illegal, the moral aspects are beyond the scope of this article as you could go round and round in argumentative circles.

The question about how the data came to be on the internet is key here, if the data was illegally leaked and then people are collecting and publishing the data - they could be (albeit unwittingly) in some legal trouble if someone brings it up.

If it's all legally collected and information you have put out there, then it is legal to do as long as it is not a threat or intimidation item. If this leak then extends into threats or intimidation then this is a matter for your local Police to handle as this will depend on local laws (again beyond the scope of this article).

Security implications

While all of the data is available online, if you fear you have made it onto this 'database' it is worth seeing what data is being collected. if any of it surprises you then you may want to look into what this may open you up to. If you are not on the list, it may still be worth seeing where this information is pulled from and seeing if you can find similar data about yourself.

If this data is of concern then you may want to make some changes (phone number, email address etc.) so that nothing of consequence is out there.

You should also be aware that malicious actors may see this as an opportunity to gather lots of information on a wide range of people who are likely to be targeted in someway - increasing that chance that the person may be more vulnerable to a mis-click and compromising their security.

What about forwarding to employers?

As mentioned previously, if you post that information publicly then you should think about it as a complaint process, you are able to be complained about if you are rude, dishonest, immoral, drive dangerously or are grossly negligent in your job. Employers accept these types of complain every day and want to protect their public image, so as long as the data was gathered in a legal way then - you are subject to this type of attention and internal process.

The way this becomes a bit of a legal issue, is if the claims are false (such as taken out of a greater context, which we see online all the time these days with people taking snippets of conversations and using it to smear someone without showing the full reasoning and argument behind it) - if this is the case then it may fall under a libel or defamation of character issue. If this is the case, you should discuss with a lawyer. If you have been wrongly named, you should petition the owners of the database to remove your data.

Legal implications

So are the creators of this list required and bound by any data laws?

They could be! If you are involved in this list, then you may want to consider if you have the correct measures in place to protect yourself and stay on the right side of the law.

GDPR

This is the data protection act of European and UK citizens data, even if they live in America they are still covered by this act. This is one of the more powerful data protection acts in the world and has levied some of the biggest fines.

What are the GDPR Fines? - GDPR.eu

This should be something you are aware of and be prepared to action requests to remove data of EU/UK citizens on request to avoid falling foul of this law. This includes securing the data so that it cannot be easily copied or stolen.

Privacy laws

These will vary from country to country, but if they are similarly written to the GDPR you may also be in violation if you do not action take down requests in a timely manner.

Data Protection Laws

There are various laws to protect data, some of them include clauses to remove data once it is no longer required. This will be a tricky area to figure out due to the nature of the list and the intent however it is worth considering whether at some point you should be removing data.

Other considerations

As always, there are more laws out there to look into and some will depend on your location, some things to consider:

• Domestic violence protection laws

  • Does any of the data put people at risk

• Child protection laws

  • Are children a part of this list?

  • Is a child at risk due to someone's position being outed?

• Online protection laws

  • These are framed differently in all countries, they can fall into the category of online bullying or harassment

There may be others, but these are just some points to get people thinking about keeping themselves safe from any legal roadblocks they may come up against. Cops don't want to be dealing with online crimes, they want to be on the streets dealing with physical criminals!

Bottom line:

The bottom line for this is if all the data you have posted online has ended up in this list, then it is legally procured. It is not great for those people now facing the consequences of this but there is no expectation of privacy when posting online.

For those involved in creating the database, you should ensure you are able to respond to legitimate requests to take down data that may contravene some of the acts. These are designed to be punishing to your life so make sure you are protected. If in doubt, call a local lawyer for advice on how the local laws in your area may affect you if something was to be brought up in court.

Conclusion:

The best thing to take away from this, keep your data private if you don't want it used against you. There is no expectation of privacy on most social media platforms. There is also a good chance that once something is posted online, it is there forever no matter how quickly you click 'undo'.

You can get services that can help hunt for your data online and they even handle the removal requests and continue to monitor for breaches. If you are concerned it may be worth looking into one of these.

As mentioned, I kept this brief, I have not looked at the database myself so just discuss generic subjects with potential thinking points for all those involved.

Please stay safe out there no matter what side of this you are on.