Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1354201
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 MARCH 2021 OPINION Social media: easy to forget repurcussions of words ficial position in defence of the Spring hunting 'derogations' – if any such things really exist, in practice – in front of the Euro- pean Court of Justice. But not only have we consist- ently defied the European Com- mission, on the issue of Spring hunting, ever since we joined in 2004… we have also con- sistently demanded more, and more, and MORE exemptions from the Birds Directive. Even now, the Maltese government is trying to secure a derogation to permit trapping of certain bird-species – once again, dur- ing the breeding season – for 'scientific purposes'. At every turn, then, our en- tire national approach to the issue of 'sustainable hunting' has been to simply exploit any possible loophole, in order to maximise the amount of hunt- ing and trapping – in one guise, or another – that can actually take place here: regardless of its impact on birdlife itself. And at no point whatsoever, it seems, has any Maltese govern- ment – at any time since around 1981, when the first proper hunting regulations were intro- duced – ever spared a thought for the possibility that… "hey, you know what? Those European regulations we're always trying to break… maybe they actually exist for a reason. A nd who knows? Maybe that reason is also linked to the fu- ture survival of hunting itself: you know… the same practice we ourselves claim to be 'de- fending'… but which we might actually be hastening towards an early grave…" Well, that is precisely the sort of realisation that came natu- rally to people who lived and died around 30 or 40 centuries ago… and who (unlike ourselves today) really did depend on the successful outcome of the hunt, for their own present and future survival. We, on the other hand, just don't seem to ever get it all… AS each day passes by, our dependence on digital technology grows to new heights. Does anyone imagine not being able to use social media to communicate with our loved ones and check on the news of the day? These digital town squares are where we are spending most of our time and this is a fact that we have grown comfortable with. The study on Digital Rights that I launched last month showed how much digital tech- nology has affected Maltese society. Social media, espe- cially, has given most of us the courage to speak our minds, conscious of the fact that being behind a screen gives a sense of protection that would not be other- wise possible. At a time, where most of our interactions are happening virtually, it is easy to get car- ried away and forget about what repercus- sions our words may have. We mustn't forget that the prin- ciples we hold dear when it comes to the traditional forms of interaction, such as respect for one an- other must also be applied to our virtu- al communication as well. After all, what we write online and what we decide to share with our friends and family will remain present digitally for a very long time. Com- ments, statements and details of our private lives are there for all to see if we decide to share them in the first place. Over 91% of respondents to the study stated that privacy is important to them and yet this is often where our in- terest in privacy ends. Just a scroll up any news feed and you can find very personal information, including sharing details of where you live and your contact informa- tion. Even though over 85% are aware of the fact that their data is being collected, this crucial information is still being shared on- line, especially by the younger generation. In fact, it is the 16-24 age bracket that are most likely to share their contact informa- tion, over 22.70% feel comfortable doing so and 36.40% also share locations they visited amongst other information that is shared daily. It emerges that users are weighing the cost of giving up their privacy with the ben- efits of being a member of these social me- dia networks. Users are feeling obliged to be full members of the new digital town squares and in turn, users feel they are also obliged to give out their data. This has led to a privacy trade off, whereby us- ers are ready to give away control over their personal data in favour of a stronger presence in the virtu- al community. The issue of priva- cy envelops all of our experiences in a dig- ital word including all the websites that we visit. Each website that we log into has an obligation to pro- vide a Privacy Agree- ment that every user needs to give their consent to. When participants where asked whether they accept the privacy agreement or change their preferences, 72.5% noted that they do not read the priva- cy agreement at all. Although the means exist in which users can retain their pri- vacy online, it is clear that most are unwillingly giving full access to their data. Although it is clear that more work needs to be done by legislators to ensure that these privacy agreements are more user friendly, it is up to us to decide whether we truly value our privacy or not. We must be aware of all the factors that apply when it comes to digital technology and make full use of the resources we have in hand, in- cluding privacy agreements. Alex Agius Saliba What we write online and what we decide to share with our friends and family will remain present digitally for a very long time. Comments, statements and details of our private lives are there for all to see if we decide to share them in the first place Alex Agius Saliba is a Labour MEP (S&D)