In 1966, Associate Justice William Douglas presented the dissenting opinion in Osborn v. United States, in which he observed, “We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy.” Today Douglas’ words ring truer than ever; with the rise of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, people are no longer living their lives in private, but rather recording them and storing them on these Web-based platforms. That data becomes semi-public information. Even with the most stringent privacy settings, the companies that maintain those websites also maintain multiple copies of your pictures and notes. Despite the lack of concern that some people have for privacy, there are serious implications for turning over so much personal data to companies without understanding how they use it.
Recently, Stanford began displaying students’ room numbers by default on StanfordWho, the public, online campus directory. The University did not notify students of the change to default settings. We consider this a serious violation of student privacy.
If you have used StanfordWho before, you know that it is a useful service for finding e-mail addresses and phone numbers for University affiliates. However, finding most of this information does not require a SUNet ID; it is available to anyone with an Internet connection. A student’s room number will only disappear if the student opts out by changing his or her privacy settings via the Axess Student Center online.
The editorial board believes default access to such information should at least require a modicum of security, such as a SUNet ID.
Moreover, the board has failed to find a compelling reason for this setting change. While Stanford considers students’ room numbers as “directory” information under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, this use of student information is particularly troubling because it bridges the gap between the virtual and physical worlds, potentially endangering students.The University allows students to opt out to protect their personal information, but puts that option in Axess, which tends to obfuscate what should be simple tasks.
The University should seriously reconsider this shift and it should make it easier for students to control what personal information they would like to make public by default.