How private is personal information? Privacy in the internet age is almost impossible to maintain. One may think that they have set up one’s computer to provide anonymity, but if anyone is on the internet their personal information is up for grabs. While there has been serious work done to keep names, as well as personal banking information safe, other important information about individuals is for sale everyday.
What exactly constitutes personal and private information is the real issue. Laws protect the selling of individual names. That is the definition, per se, of personal identification. However, with the advent of the internet, companies gather information about every aspect of personal and corporate life except names. Does that still mean that one’s identity is still anonymous?
I would contend that no, it does not. By the use of cookies and beacons, companies gather information about what users look at on the net. It then stores that information and continues to add to that file on some distant server. This information is also for sale.
That does not sound like anonymity to me. For instance, say that I look at fly fishing sites or home beer brewing sites. That is enough information to let company “A†sell those little bits of information to other companies in those businesses. So I have never been on those sites, but I am suddenly getting ads tailored to those companies. Many times, this is based on storage of an IP address for login.
The search engines of course, are privy to that information and my queries will be directed more towards my personal preferences. At that point, I no longer have wide open access to all the information available on the net. My world has been narrowed down considerably. Do I need access to everything available on the internet? Probably not, but I would like to be the judge of that, rather than some server somewhere looking at my past searches and keeping me in the same information pool. That is, essentially, my argument.
Laws will probably have to be enacted to protect not only personal names and identifying account numbers as personal information, but also personal preferences. While it is not too concerning that companies know about favorite hobbies, there are implications regarding other areas of personal life.
Here are some other theoretical possibilities for and against the collection of statistical data. It is based on the issue of medicine. If a person has medical symptoms that they investigate on the internet that would take them to sites about diabetes or cancer, can their insurance company then decide not to cover them for a pre-existing condition? On the other hand, looking up the symptoms of the flu does help world medical organizations keep track of infection rate. It gives a fairly accurate picture of where flu cases are more numerous, perhaps a bit better than even local health offices. There are always going to be a fair number of people who will be able to ride out the flu at home with over the counter medications. So tracking may not always be a bad thing.
It is always a good thing to remember that personal information is being tracked. Login IP addresses, locations, times of day, etc., are being stored. Maintain the best software that you can to keep the cookies, flash cookies and beacons to a minimum. At this time it is hard to find software that can keep all tracking devices off your computer. Vigilance is the current best plan of action.
Johnny Smoes is an IT Programer in Victoria Australia. He frequently writes on issues of internet security. You can read more of his work at http://ping.fm/ywuiO or http://ping.fm/GUc9w
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Very interesting article. It just goes to show that nothing is really private. Some distant server will ultimately know more about my private peccadillos than my best friends!
ReplyDeleteThat's for him to know and you to find out. Fascinating article on internet privacy by the way...
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about Jack? Anyway, very good article Johnny - it's terrifying how much people know about you through the internet
ReplyDelete“While it is not too concerning that companies know about favorite hobbies, there are implications regarding other areas of personal life” I don’t know about that, my inbox is flooded with fashion sales emails and newsletters just because I once put ‘fashion’ as an interest in some online form or other. I must have spent hours and hours over the last few years deleting those things.
ReplyDeleteIt’s terrifying how much info these companies have about you now. Who said the internet was freedom?
ReplyDeleteI don't care if they know my name, as long as they don't know my real age!!!
ReplyDeleteJenny, I feel your pain. If a company knows your interests, like and dislikes etc. they put you in a very narrowly defined field and send you crap based on that facts. E.g. I bought North Face trainers a while back and now I get loads of emails about tents, rock-climbing gear etc. I live in Sydney and hate nature!
ReplyDelete“Do I need access to everything available on the internet? Probably not, but I would like to be the judge of that, rather than some server somewhere looking at my past searches and keeping me in the same information pool. ” – I agree, this is what makes me so angry about these auto things
ReplyDelete"Laws will probably have to be enacted to protect not only personal names and identifying account numbers as personal information, but also personal preferences." The problem is that this is the internet so it's not under any one particular jurisdiction so it would have to be agreed on internationally.
ReplyDelete"That does not sound like anonymity to me." That's because it isn't. There's no such thing as anonymity online
ReplyDeleteBy the use of cookies and beacons, companies gather information about what users look at on the net. - what are beacons
ReplyDelete"If a person has medical symptoms that they investigate on the internet that would take them to sites about diabetes or cancer, can their insurance company then decide not to cover them for a pre-existing condition?" - this is interesting, never thought about that.
ReplyDeleteIt's the personal preferences information that really scares me, because it means companies can know me intimately. They can know my name or email address as much as they want, but if they know my hobbies, my medical history or all the websites I choose to visit... that's creepy!
ReplyDeleteWhat happened here... '“A�' - did you fall asleep on the keyboard
ReplyDeleteHow private is personal information? That’s the key. KEY! – geddit?
ReplyDeleteOh dear Gina. That’s awful!
ReplyDeleteHow personal is private information? Eh?
ReplyDeleteYou want the simple answer? Not private enough.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing private any more
ReplyDelete