Privacy and the Internet
The Internet provides a wealth of sources for information, products, and services of all types, making it a convenient place for consumers to research topics and make purchases. Although Internet users know that some personal data will be required to make a purchase, they are often unaware of the personal data that can be collected without their knowledge by simply visiting a Web page or reading e-mail. This paper addresses some of the ways unauthorized personal information has been and is being collected and steps that can be taken to prevent or avoid this collection.
To make an online purchase, an Internet user must provide a certain amount of personal information to the vendor. This information usually includes the user's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and credit card data. There have been many reported cases of security failures at online vendors of products and services. Because of this publicity, most Internet users are aware that there is a potential for the information they provide to be exposed to the world whether by human error, careless security practices by a vendor, or a successful attack by a hacker. However, most users are not aware of the amount of personal information that can be collected without their consent when they do such ordinary things as visiting a Web page, opening a document, or reading an e-mail message.
How can personal information be collected without the user's knowledge? Information about an Internet user can be collected in many ways, including the underlying protocol of the Web, “cookies”, banner advertisements,"Web bugs", and hi-tech "toys". A user may also provide information to an online vendor to reduce annoyances. Almost every ...
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Lemos, Robert. ZDNet News. No easy way to exterminate 'Web bugs'. August 31, 2000. techupdate.zdnet.com/techupdate/stories/main/0,14179,2622610,00.html Accessed: October 30, 2001.
Sullivan, Jennifer and Jones, Christopher. Wired News. How Much Is Your Playlist Worth? November 3, 1999. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,32258,00.html. Accessed: October 31, 2001.
Vendor sites
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X10 pop-up. www.x10.com/x10ads1.htm. Updated: Unknown. Accessed: October 9, 2001.
Netscape. Persistent Client State - HTTP Cookies. home.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html. Updated: 1999. Accessed: October 30, 2001.
In the Engineering and Technology Journal, two engineers, Gareth Mitchell and Guy Clapperton, gave their thoughts on both sides of the privacy issue. Is gathering information violating personal privacy? They made their arguments using currency as a metaphor for personal information and online services a product. Mitchell argues the case that giving out personal information is “too high a price to pay” (Mitchell, 2013, p. 26). He says that despite the option to opt out of cookies and certain information, many sites are more covert and make their opt out option less accessible than a pop up asking to opt out. The site makes it hard for the Internet user to say no to being tracked. Mitchell warns the reader to take more consideration into what information they are giving away and that “privacy is not to be taken for granted” (Mitchell, 2013, p. 26). Getting information from the Internet would mean tra...
“Human beings are not meant to lose their anonymity and privacy,” Sarah Chalke said. When using the web, web users’ information tends to be easily accessible to government officials or hackers. In Nicholas Carr’s “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” Jim Harpers’ “Web Users Get As Much As They Give,” and Lori Andrews “Facebook is Using You” the topic of internet tracking stirred up many mixed views; however, some form of compromise can be reached on this issue, laws that require companies to inform the public on what personal information is being taken, creating advice on social media about how web users can be more cautious about what kind of information they give out online, enabling your privacy settings and programs, eliminating weblining, and also by attacking this problem by offering classes for the youth on the internet. Weblining tracks a web user’s information when using the internet, the information that is taken is then used to try to sell items to the user. Carr informs readers on how weblining works: “Already, advertisers are able to infer extremely personal details about people by monitoring their web-browsing habits.
Over the past decade the world has gotten much smaller due to the electronic communication the Internet has fostered. While this promotes business and international relations, problems arise regarding the protection of individuals’ personal information. Many countries around the world have developed privacy policies and laws protect an individual's information in the realm of electronic communication. Universal enforcement gets complicated because the Internet is not restricted to one country; it’s worldwide. As a result, concerns arise regarding the compatibility of various countries' privacy policies. This paper will discuss the current legislation in place for various major countries1, the existing conflicts between these countries’ policies and the implications these conflicts hold for the protection of privacy on the Internet.
The Internet offers many benefits but it also creates many threats that undermines our personal privacy. Concerns about loss of privacy are not new. But the computer's ability to gather and sort vast amounts of data and the Internet's ability to distribute it globally magnify those concerns [1]. Privacy concerns on the Internet are centered on improper acquisition, improper use of personal information such as intrusions, manipulation, discrimination, identity theft, and stalking of personal information. Today the Internet stretches our geographic boundaries and force us to deal with global ethic based on moral principles held to be valid across the cultures. Due to the nature of the Internet, our personal information may be transmitted over the internet and that the transfer of personal information may be made to any country in the world, regardless of the extent of any data protection laws and regulations in any of those countries.
Scrolling through my Facebook feed on my iPhone, casually looking at my friend’s pictures statuses and updates, I came across a video with an amusing title. I tapped the play button expecting the video to load. Instead, I was redirected to an app asking permission to access my “public information, pictures and more.” I then realized; what I considered to be “private information” was not private anymore. Privacy is becoming slowly nonexistent, due to the invasion of advertising companies and the information we publicly post in the online world. In the essay “The Piracy of Privacy: Why Marketers Must Bare Our Souls” by Allen D. Kanner remarks, how major companies such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft get billions of transmissions each year on
Part of the allure of the Internet has always been the anonymity it offers its users. As the Internet has grown however, causing capitalists and governments to enter the picture, the old rules are changing fast. E-commerce firms employ the latest technologies to track minute details on customer behavior. The FBI's Carnivore email-tracking system is being increasingly used to infringe on the privacy of netizens. Corporations now monitor their employees' web and email usage. In addition to these privacy infringements, Internet users are also having their use censored, as governments, corporations, and other institutions block access to certain sites. However, as technology can be used to wage war on personal freedoms, it can also be employed in the fight against censorship and invasion of privacy.
The government gives each American citizen a set of unalienable rights that protect them from the government’s power. These rights cannot be broken, yet the government violates the Fourth Amendment daily to find ways to spy on the American public under the guise of protecting against terrorism. In 2007 President Obama said the American administration “acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our securities – it is not.” Americans need to understand that their privacy is worth the fight. The people need to tell their neighbors, their congressmen, and their senators that they will not allow their internet privacy to be violated by needless spying. American citizens deserve the rights given to them and need to fight for the right to keep them by changing privacy laws to include Internet privacy.
The digital era arrives. Blue Book information editorial board and Social Science Literature Publishing House (2010) pointed out that “China's e-commerce transaction volume reached 3.85 trillion yuan in 2009”. Utilisation of e-business services was also high amongst Hong Kong people. About 98.3% of all persons had used e-business services such as Octopus Card and Automatic Teller Machine (Census and Statistics Department, 2009). One of the pitfalls for the development of e-business, however, is the concerns on consumer privacy. According to Green’s (1999) survey, 54% of respondents had decided not to purchase a product because of a concern on overuse of personal information collected in the e-business transaction. This essay examines the circumstance on protection of consumer privacy in e-business. As e-business is surging by astronomical number and consumer information is a kind of property, the protection of consumer privacy in e-business becomes significant. This essay begins with the causes of the problem, and then move on to analyse the effects. Lastly, the essay concludes with the solutions to the problem.
As we evolve in the information age, online privacy rights have grown over the past years. In 1986, a federal law was passed to protect an individual’s electronical information. “This law was produced to make a fair balance among the privacy expectations of citizens and the legitimate needs of law enforcement” (EPIC). With the Internet developing intensely, there is a great deal at stake such as the theft of your identification. But where it all begins is when you access the Internet. This is the first step in being aware of your privacy because you go through the process in signing up with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). With this process you have a IP address attached to your ISP. This is the primary step on how your information starts
Computers can also tie information together in an impersonal and systematic way that can lead to invasions of privacy. Take for example the situation wh...
As can be seen, from the information presented, the need for laws and restrictions concerning internet data collection is greatly needed. Moreover, the government can search private citizens data without warrant or cause. Also, companies are not only collecting internet user data but also selling it. The companies and agencies who commit such crimes should be fined or either closed down. In closing, the privacy and security of individuals on the internet should be upheld by the United States government.
In this new era of the Internet, most people use the Internet to acquire information of one kind or other. But what these people are not aware of is that the Internet is collecting information about them. Every time we get onto the Internet there might be a compromise of privacy of our personal information. The information flows both ways. With every clock of the mouse on a hyperlink, or an addition to the mailing list, someone out there might be gathering information about us. This raises the seriousness of privacy of our information on the Internet.
The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
My aims are to require my evidence that will show me to understand of broad range of my learning outcomes in my project brief.
Privacy is the condition where someone personal information can not be documented and be used by others (Parent, 1983). Privacy has been and continues to be a significant issue of concern for both current and prospective electronic commerce customers. The foll...