Some governments and laws protect the privacy of individuals (using a Natural Rights ethical framing). These include the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which includes a “right to be forgotten
Legal framework
This highlights potential legal risks if companies fail to comply with data protection laws such as GDPR.
the company might have computer programs that automatically search through the messages
Surveillance risk
This suggests a privacy concern, as users may not be fully aware that their messages are being monitored or analyzed.
those “private” messages are stored in the computers at those companies
Data access risk
This raises a legal risk because user messages are stored by the platform and may be accessed beyond the user’s expectation.
a social media application might offer us a way of “Private Messaging” (also called Direct Messaging) with another user.
Privacy perception risk
This statement may create a misleading perception of privacy, as users may assume their messages are completely private.