Networking and Privacy in the Changing World

Today, we can find tabloids and magazines on shelves of supermarkets or kiosks with pictures of celebrities or occasionally normal people who do not realize that they were photographed while they were in their home or enjoying their vacations. The motivation for those photographers who take those photos are probably the same which motivated Darwin Bonaparte to film John in the novel “Brave New World”. They aspire to be famous and wealthy. They are truly selfish, irresponsible and materialistic. Indeed, they gravely violate the right of those people to have privacy. For example, an article published in the USA Today mentions and presents different opinions about it,

Privacy, a term that is reluctant in today’s modernized society who’s meaning is far from realistic. As the world congruently fosters a new way of living, through technology our lives as we know as our own is far from it. This paper will discuss the use of technology to research ones private information, the advantages and disadvantages of the public access of such information and the laws that promulgate such data.

Time Newspaper has learnt that it's not surprising that Internet companies have electronic dossiers that contain personal information for individuals who subscribe to the websites. Generally, these companies have obtained the information from people based on individual's visit to the website, sent and received emails, tagged photos, and searches people carry out. However, the extent of personal information known by these Internet companies has remained largely unknown as well who they provide and/or sell this information to. However, Internet companies continue to gather lots of personal information from different people who focus on carrying out online activities on a daily basis. Currently, it's estimated that these firms gather personal information from nearly 500 million users but are hesitant to provide this information to the other firms or individuals. As their unwillingness to share has attracted significant congressional inquiry, things could finally change in California following the introduction of a bill that may force companies to disclose the kind of personal information they have gathered and how this information is being used.

Although technology has provided tools to enhance our capabilities in things such as finding a missing person, solving murder cases based on technological assets etc.., this technology also leaves us vulnerable in many ways to slowly losing our privacy (Burten, C., 2012).

The continuous proliferation of information facilitated by the advancement in technology is a constant and continuous threat to information security and privacy. The various schemes and acts by the various government agencies in sectors such as health, finance and so on amongst other acts have constituted to information vulnerability and enhanced the breach of information security. Many people are of the opinion that the government has legalized spying on them, acquiring and using their private data at will. The confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of information has been greatly affected and many private information have been released to the public domain either

As Justin Brookman says, “‘Without a framework in place to assure everyday consumers of the ability to limit the collection and retention of the minutiae of their lives by unknown third parties, any sense of a realm of personal privacy may completely evaporate’” (Tapscott 119). There should always be some sense of mystery in the world. Third party sources often find a way of getting information that Internet users did not give them express permission to. The flow of information goes further than most people realize, which is where the dangerous invasion of privacy comes in. A sharing is caring mentality is all good and fun until a third party uses it against you. We should beware the extent to which our information can spread without our

“With liberty and justice for all.” Our founding fathers envisioned a country where liberty, meaning freedom, and justice, meaning morally right actions, would be for all citizens, but in our modern society, today, can we really say this is true? In a society, where we all have felt deceived by our own government through matters involving privacy, it is hard to say whether our government is looking after us or looking out for us. Keizer, the author of “Privacy,” presents the idea that humans are important so protecting our privacy is essential. Huxley, the author of “Brave New World,” critiques our modern society by describing a society built on the idea of consumerism: efficiency, productivity, and stability.

Privacy, over the years, has become something more or less irrelevant to people. People realize every social media website, every technological gadget acquired, every email, and more, is monitored by the government or by a disturbing next-door neighbor. Yet, it is as though people ignore such possibilities and move on with life. At first, the lack of privacy was due to a safety issue- understandable. Today, although it is still for safety, people with the wrong mentality have the ability to find information that is harmful to another person.

How would you feel if I told you that I know almost everything there is to know about you – from your occupation to the brand of toothpaste you use, from your IQ to your culinary tastes, and so on – even though you have never met me, and possibly were not even aware of my existence? Most people would immediately state that they would feel violated, stripped of their individuality. Yet millions of people browse the Net day after day, blissfully ignorant of the fact that that they are always being monitored by someone to some degree. By selling you items and/or services, Amazon.com knows your reading preferences; your favorite online grocery store knows what kind of toothpaste you prefer; your university knows

Ever feel like you are being watched? How about having the feeling like some one is following you home from school? Well that is what it will be like if users do not have the privacy on the Internet they deserve. EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center), a advocacy group that has been fighting the Clinton Administration for tougher online consumer protection laws, and other privacy protection agencies have formed to protect the rights and privileges of the Internet user. With the U.S. Government, EPIC has had to step in and help small companies and Internet users with their own privacy problems, hackers getting into their systems and ruining the networks, and crackers stealing and decrypting private

It is quite cheap and fairly easy to accumulate thorough information about people because of the advances in computer technology. This can prove to be beneficial for law enforcement looking to track down criminals; prevention of fraud within banks, and consumers becoming more educated about new products and services. However, this also creates opportunity for misuse of such information.

When your data is acquired for specific one purpose, but when it is used for some other unrelated purpose without subject's consent. How long will personal information be stored? How will the data be used? What could happen if it is used for in the future? The potential uses of any piece of personal data are vast. Without barriers on or accountability for how that data is used, it is hard for the people to assess the problem of the data’s being in the government’s control. This kind harm is called Secondary use. Another widely prevailing problem is Distortion. Although personal data can reveal more about people’s personalities and activities, it often unable to reflect the whole picture. It can draw a distorted picture, specifically since records are reductive—they often acquire information in a standardized format with many information omitted. Even if you feel the organization dragging the data about you which does not have the intention to harm you, but it can still happen, whether through carelessness or the mistakes. Remember that thinking you have nothing to protect doesn’t indicate that you shouldn’t care about securing your privacy. Taking procedures to secure your own privacy is not about being secretive, it’s about maintaining control over what’s

Personal privacy today is a controversial and complex topic, which is influenced by a number of factors. There is an integral role that databases play in this highly debated topic. The fact that many people now carry out their transactions electronically is another important factor. There is also pressure on personal privacy for increased national security around the world to combat terrorism. In addition, personal privacy is even threatened by commercial factors and the Internet.

I remember when people found phone numbers and addresses of other people by calling the operator or the phone company. The only numbers that were available were the ones of the people that had opted to list their name, number, and address. Nowadays, anyone almost anywhere can look up anyone’s phone number and address on the internet. But an even more alarming problem is that the owner of that information may or may not have approved for their information to be public. This is just a very small example of the power of the internet. It can be wealth of information and at the same time it can be very dangerous to have all of that information so easily accessible to anyone and everyone. With all of the positive beneficial impacts that the internet has brought to our world, it has also created easy

Before starting this class, I was unaware of how much information was being collected in my digital life and online. Living in Arkansas, I had heard of Acxiom, but gave no thought to what their business was. I was unaware that my information is probably being mined on a daily basis by a company that is just down the road. Regrettably, I am not in the minority. According to the Pew Research Center, almost three-quarters of people interviewed think it is important to be in control of who collects their personal information, but most do not believe their information is safe, and almost half do not understand how much data is collected (Rainie, 2016). At the same time, Dougherty issues a challenge to his readers, “name every digital property that collects information from your web travels. I can’t with any certainty” (Dougherty, 2014). This tells us that even those regularly involved in the field may be as vulnerable to data collection as the rest of us.