Online Data Tracking: An Invasion of Privacy?

1364 Words3 Pages

The personal connection Americans have with their phones, tablets, and computers; and the rising popularity of online shopping and social websites due to the massive influence the social media has on Americans, it is clear why this generation is called the Information Age, also known as Digital Age. With the Internet being a huge part of our lives, more and more personal data is being made available, because of our ever-increasing dependence and use of the Internet on our phones, tablets, and computers. Some corporations such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook; governments, and other third parties have been tracking our internet use and acquiring data in order to provide personalized services and advertisements for consumers. Many American such as Nicholas Carr who wrote the article “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers,” Anil Dagar who wrote the article “Internet, Economy and Privacy,” and Grace Nasri who wrote the article “Why Consumers are Increasingly Willing to Trade Data for Personalization,” believe that the continuing loss of personal privacy may lead us as a society to devalue the concept of privacy and see privacy as outdated and unimportant. Privacy is dead and corporations, governments, and third parties murdered it for their personal gain not for the interest of the public as they claim. There are more disadvantages than advantages on letting corporations, governments, and third parties track and acquire data to personalized services and advertisements for us.

Online data tracking good because it allows companies such as Google, Yahoo, and Twitter to give you customize Internet service for better experiences. Online tracking allows advertisers to precisely target their consumer’s needs based on their b...

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...ompanies’ databases without our awareness—much less our approval—the more deeply the Net is woven into our lives the more exposed we become. In order to stop online tracking, we have to take personal responsibility for the information we share and modify our privacy settings. We have to get bills and regulations passed by congress so laws can be made to limit corporations from tracking and sharing our personal formation and discipline and take action upon any corporation that does not abide by the rules.

Works Cited

. Carr, Pete. “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers.” The Wall Street Journal. 6 Aug. 2010. Web.
2. Nasri, Grace. “Why Consumers are Increasingly Willing To Trade Data For Personalization.” Digital Trend. 10 Dec. 2012. Web.
3. Dagar, Anil. “Internet, Economy and Privacy.” Fung Institute for Engineering Leadership. 16 April 2013. Web.

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