Big data privacy in social media sites

Abstract

Social media sites have provided us with the ability to share information about our daily activities. However, users do not understand the implications of sharing their personal data on social media sites. Individuals on these social sites share information without realising that this could lead to their privacy being invaded. All of this has been made possible through the growth of data which is now a phenomenon known as y`big data'. At the same time, most developing countries such as those found in Africa do not have legislations in place to deal with the increasing challenges of online data and personal information privacy. This paper aims to discuss privacy issues in the social media context through highlighting how big data plays a role towards impacting on the privacy of individuals. This paper will also analyse privacy policies of social media sites and lastly an African perspective towards privacy is presented. This paper provides recommendations towards data privacy in general and in the African context.