Assessing The Protection Of The GDPR On Marginalised Communities

Arnav Bawa, OP Jindal Global University

Introduction

Information is one of the most powerful tools that one could possess. This is one of the sole principles that companies use while providing its services. One of the key functions of companies that provide free services is collecting data from its customers to understand what their customers like and dislike. They then use this information to create a profile on their customer, with the data that is sold across various platforms to build upon the profile and reach a position where the companies could predict the behaviours of their customers, based on the data they have collected and the profile that they have created. For example, a who person likes a lot of super hero films, would tend to naturally search for certain superhero merchandise on the internet. Even if they enter a search for a product on Google or directly on Amazon, they might be prone to receiving ads on superhero merchandise on Facebook or Instagram. This occurs due to the sale of data that takes place behind the scenes and consumers have little to no information on such instances. One might think that this is helpful, sure who would not want personalised ads tailored to their choices? Profiling might be helpful when it comes to persons, since they receive a better customer experience and are more likely to get faster and more efficient service with the business using its predictive algorithm. The only problem is that the stakes for certain individuals might be higher, where their internet activity may be a life or death situation.