Abstract
<jats:p>The proliferation of social media platforms has led to an explosion of user-generated content (UGC), creating unprecedented opportunities for big data analytics. However, this rise also brings critical challenges related to user privacy, data ownership, and ethical considerations. This paper explores the intersection of social media and big data, emphasizing privacy concerns in managing UGC. It discusses current data practices, regulatory frameworks, privacy-enhancing technologies, and proposes future strategies for balancing innovation with privacy protection. Through a synthesis of recent studies and illustrative graphs, the paper highlights the urgent need for stronger privacy governance mechanisms to secure digital rights in the era of pervasive data collection.</jats:p>