It was announced recently that the antivirus specialist Avast has begun to shut down its subsidiary, Jumpstart, amidst evidence of data and browsing information being sold to outside clients. Leaked documents revealed that user clicks and website browsing information of over 100 million devices was sold to companies such as Google and Microsoft among others. This was collected from users who had installed Avast Online Security browser plugin. Avast made the statement that all necessary steps were taken to ensure user privacy before data was sold such as the removal of any identifying information. They also claim that users were informed of these data policies and that an opt-out option is available. Even with such measures, the decision to eliminate Jumpstart comes from users insisting that the company could do a better job of protecting data.
Jumpstart was started in 2015 as an analytics arm of Avast, and claims to have always followed data protection regulations, but these claims have done little to ease the minds of users. CEO Ondrej Vlcek, who was hired in the summer of 2019, has stressed that although Avast puts it’s users privacy as a major concern, the company wants to strive to do things better. “Avast has a long track record of protecting users’ devices and data against malware through our award-winning products, and the company understands and takes seriously the responsibility to balance user privacy with the necessary use of data” said Vlcek.
This is an interesting development for Avast and raises some interesting questions, most notably, what is the balance between analytics and privacy. There is a lot of talk in tech media today about big data and there are two opposite viewpoints that emerge in the discussion. That of the data analytic who sees all this data as a way to answer questions and solve problems. How a company can provide better services to its customers can be answered within big data. Then there is the opinion of the user/public who want to protect their personal information from falling into nefarious hands.
Both opinions have merit and I think what Avast has chosen to do reflects a good balance point. Avast believes that Jumpstart hasn’t done anything explicitly wrong, but also believes that its users trust is important and has taken steps to keep that trust. Avast and other companies need to be able to conduct analytics, but can do so in a way that does not compromise the data of their users. I’m glade Avast has stressed the importance of data security and I hope other companies follow this example.
Source: Avast cans data harvesting subsidiary after outcry – Alex Scroxton https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252477574/Avast-cans-data-harvesting-subsidiary-after-outcry
LIS 4022 Spring 2020 