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Essay on privacy in internet era
Essay on privacy in internet era
Essay on privacy in internet era
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With everyone joining the online world your privacy is at even greater risk then ever before. The internet has become part of our everyday lives, from social networking to online transactions. Your privacy is threatened every day. However is our privacy threatened by our own government? According to the pew research data 56% of Americans say that it is acceptable for the NSA to run through millions of Americans phone records in order to prevent terrorism. (Pew Research Center) Many people still believe that the government has no business in our lives, yet many people including our government invade our digital privacy.
Your online identity is important. The internet is used for many important things. There is a lot of personal data also stored in the cloud such as pictures, emails, and notes, even our schedules are in the cloud making cooperative working easier and more efficient. However these things can all be a security risk from stealing personal information with phishing or using social networking and your calendars with the intent of stalking. "Social networking sites have been criticized for not protecting users’ personal information, leading to a May 2010 complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission by 15 consumer advocacy groups." (Parks) Facebook is a popular social networking site, that stores a lot of your personal information. "A good practice to help
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stop privacy invaders is to adjust your privacy settings. In practice, though, adjusting Facebook’s dozens of privacy controls can be tedious and confusing." (Uong) All of these things are invasions of your privacy and if you do not take steps to protect your self you leave your self open for privacy attacks.
Does the government also ...
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...ple- press.org/2013/06/10/majority-views-nsa-phone-tracking-as-acceptable-anti-terror-tactic/
"National Security Agency / Central Security Service - Top Banner." Welcome to the National Security Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. .
"NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking." Washington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. .
Parks, Peggy J. "Current Issues: Online Social Networking." Current Issues: Online Social Networking. 2011: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
Spinello, Richard A. "The End of Privacy." America. Jan. 4 1997: 9-13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
Shapiro, Andrew L. "Privacy for Sale." Nation. 23 Jun. 1997: 11+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 Feb. 2014.
Edward Snowden is America’s most recent controversial figure. People can’t decide if he is their hero or traitor. Nevertheless, his leaks on the U.S. government surveillance program, PRISM, demand an explanation. Many American citizens have been enraged by the thought of the government tracing their telecommunication systems. According to factbrowser.com 54% of internet users would rather have more online privacy, even at the risk of security (Facts Tagged with Privacy). They say it is an infringement on their privacy rights of the constitution. However, some of them don’t mind; they believe it will help thwart the acts of terrorists. Both sides make a good point, but the inevitable future is one where the government is adapting as technology is changing. In order for us to continue living in the new digital decade, we must accept the government’s ability to surveil us.
How much privacy do we as the American people truly have? American Privacy is not directly guaranteed in any manner under the United States Constitution; however, by the Fourth Amendment, Americans are protected from illegal search and seizure. So then isn’t it ironic that in today’s modern world, nothing we do that it is in any way connected to the internet is guaranteed to remain discreet? A Google search, an email, a text message, or even a phone call are all at risk of being intercepted, traced, geo located, documented, and stored freely by the government under the guise of “protecting” the American people. Quite simply, the Government in order to protect us and our rights, is willing to make a hypocrite of itself and act as though our right is simply a privilege, and without any form of consent from the people, keep virtual tabs on each and every one of us. In the words of Former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis “The right to privacy is a person's right to be left alone by the government... the right most valued by civilized men." Privacy isn’t just Privilege, it is nonnegotiable right, and deserves to be treated as such.
Privacy postulates the reservation of a private space for the individual, described as the right to be let alone. The concept is founded on the autonomy of the individual. The ability of an individual to make choices lies at the core of the human personality. The Supreme Court protected the right to privacy of prostitute. The autonomy of the individual is associated over matters which can be kept private. These are concerns over which there is a legitimate expectation of privacy. Privacy has both a normative and descriptive function. At a normative level privacy sub-serves those eternal values upon which the guarantees of life, liberty and freedom are founded. At a descriptive level, privacy postulates a bundle of entitlements and interests
Major tech companies unite to fight government surveillance. The New American. American Opinion Publishing, Inc., 6 Jan 2014. Web. 3 Apr 2014.
Carr, Pete. “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers.” The Wall Street Journal. 6 Aug. 2010. Web.
The word “privacy” did not grow up with us throughout history, as it was already a cultural concept by our founding fathers. This term was later solidified in the nineteenth century, when the term “privacy” became a legal lexicon as Louis Brandeis (1890), former Supreme Court justice, wrote in a law review article, that, “privacy was the right to be let alone.” As previously mentioned in the introduction, the Supreme Court is the final authority on all issues between Privacy and Security. We started with the concept of our fore fathers that privacy was an agreed upon concept that became written into our legal vernacular. It is being proven that government access to individual information can intimidate the privacy that is at the very center of the association between the government and the population. The moral in...
Taylor, James Stacey. "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance." Public Affairs Quarterly July 2005: 227-246.
Love, Dylan. "The NSA Probably Gained Access To Google And Yahoo's Data By Tapping Their Cable." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 26 Nov. 2013. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.
Solove, Daniel J. “5 Myths about Privacy” Washington Post: B3. Jun 16 2013. SIRS. Web. 10
LeRoux, Yves. "Privacy concerns in the digital world." 03 Oct 2013. Computer Weekly. 24 April 2014 .
Facebook is an online social networking service and became very popular within years. It was found on the 4th of February in 2004. As of now you must be 13 years of age to register and make an account. Facebook has been updating almost every year to make improvements such as the layout of your wall, the layout of your messages, and most importantly your privacy and security of your account. In 2010, the security team of Facebook has begun to expand its efforts to reduce risks to users’ privacy, and it was successful but still leaves some privacy concerns behind.
The issues caused by online privacy are growing with the increase of Social Networking Sites. Virtually all Social Networking Sites have ‘public’ as their default privacy setting, however that is not what the majority of users prefer. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project & American Life, 80 % of the users go to the effort to change their settings to private. With the increasing awareness of cyber – crime and the need for privacy, users have now started to rethink their actions online. Carefully selecting whom among your Facebook friends see your personal information, and who should be restricted, blocked or unfriended.
Powell, Robert. "Four Ways Technology Invades Your Privacy." Lovemoney.com. N.p., 5 Oct. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
Internet privacy and security has become the concern of many individuals throughout recent years. There are a very limited amount of laws that have been enacted to combat computer or cyber related crimes. This has become an issue because as the internet grows increasingly popular so does the criminal and immoral behavior that abounds on it. With these crimes gaining in impact, effectiveness, and frequency, there needs to be more repercussions for these crimes. The United States government needs to increase restrictions on the amount and type of data on individuals from the internet, to prevent the government from invading privacy of citizens and to prevent companies from storing browser histories of individuals, to then sell that information to ad agencies and other companies.
Keeping your privacy is getting harder and harder to do, but even though the privacy setting can help to an extent, they don’t always work the way they should. Putting information out for the public eye to see can be a risk but could also be used to the Facebook users advantage. With this comes a loss of privacy that the user has to deal with. No matter how many privacy settings are used or are changed they never a guaranty of full privacy. The only real way to guaranty this is to stay away from social media completely. With that we would lose the connected world we have today.