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Information Privacy in the Internet Era by Roman Wong, Ph.D. Background Background for Teachers Privacy is the right of individuals to be protected against unreasonable surveillance or interference by other individuals or organizations, including the government. The right of privacy is protected by laws and constitutions in many countries. In the United States, for example, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition to the Fourth Amendment, there is also a body of legislation to govern the ways that personal information is collected and used. A few examples include the Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970), Privacy Act (1974), Privacy Protect Act (1980), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (1998). Nevertheless, there are many areas where the practices of personal information collection and application are still vague. Privacy legislation is still in its early stages of development. Many organizations over the last ten years have started to become more sensitive to the privacy issues, although the attractive business value of consumers' personal information still tempts many others to breach users' privacy. The Fair Trade Commission's Fair Information Practices are generally considered to be a useful guideline for organizations to use in establishing their privacy policies. Hacking And Tracking: How Our Privacy is Compromised by Internet Technology The internet has enabled us to improve communication, erase physical barriers, expand our education, and improve our general quality of life. However, an individual's right to privacy is also seriously challenged in the internet era. For example, the information sent over the internet, which is a large network of networks, passes through hundreds and thousands of computers on the network before reaching the intended recipient computer. Each of these intermediary computers is able to monitor, capture, and store the information that passes through it. Such collections of personal data and the subsequent use of the data are a breach of privacy since the individual has no knowledge or control of this flow of data. She or he can neither access the information nor change and/or delete the information even when it is incorrect. Each computer connected to the internet is identified by a unique address, known as the internet protocol (IP) address, which allows a computer to send and receive information over the internet. With technological advances, it is possible for one party (e.g, merchants) to track the internet users' online activities without the users' knowing it. Such internet activity information includes, for example, the online newsgroups or files an individual has visited, the web sites and pages browsed, and the items inspected or bought on the internet. To organizations, this information has a high business value because it helps them to determine who is visiting their web sites and what potential customers seem to be interested in buying. Because of its identifiable nature, an IP address is regarded in some countries as personal information. However, in the U.S., an IP address is not counted as a piece of personal information. This difference in the legal status of IP addresses has a significant implication. While the U.K. and a number of other European countries hold that, unless sanctioned by the website visitor's consent, a website that provides for third-party interception of IP addressing information and traffic data may be committing a criminal offense. In the U.S., such interception and data collection is not illegal. Search History and Internet Anonymity: A Trail Telling Our Whereabouts Most of us use at least one search engine, such as Google, MSN, or Yahoo, on a daily basis. Frequently, search engines track each one of their users' searches. They can record users' IP addresses, the search terms used, the time of the search, and other information. Since ISPs (internet service providers such as Comcast, Netzero, or Earthlink) can connect their subscribers' IP addresses with their account information, the subscribers' search history, together with their personal information, may be tracked and stored. According to a CNET News survey in 2006, there is a considerable amount of variation among the major search engines in terms of keeping information regarding users' search activities. However, not all search engines keep users' identity and/or activity information. Ixquick, for example, is a metasearch engine that allows users to search in anonymity. The company's practice is to delete all users' personal search details from its log files. The company's privacy policy indicates its belief that if the company retained the information, it would eventually be misused. Users should pay attention to the privacy policy of the ISP and search engines before using their services. There are other search engines and software that also provide internet anonymity. Social Networks: We Treasure Our Right to Express Ourselves Social networking websites are websites where people with similar hobbies or interests can be introduced to other people through their friends. MySpace.com is an extremely popular website that allows people to set up profiles, post pictures, and publish blogs. Members can invite current friends to join and can look for new friends within the network. Often you may not know all of the people who belong to your network. The profiles, pictures, and blogs are a way of communicating your interests to the other members of the social network. Popular social networking websites include Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook. Legislators and law enforcement officers have been attracted to these social networking websites because of the ease with which sexual predators have targeted minors who use these them. In addition to these risks, social networking sites pose the same problem as blogs, message boards, and personal websites: the users never know who will read their profiles or look at their pictures.

Information Privacy in the Internet Era

by Roman Wong, Ph.D.

Background

Background for Teachers

Privacy is the right of individuals to be protected against unreasonable surveillance or interference by other individuals or organizations, including the government. The right of privacy is protected by laws and constitutions in many countries. In the United States, for example, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects the right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. In addition to the Fourth Amendment, there is also a body of legislation to govern the ways that personal information is collected and used. A few examples include the Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970), Privacy Act (1974), Privacy Protect Act (1980), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (1998). Nevertheless, there are many areas where the practices of personal information collection and application are still vague.

Privacy legislation is still in its early stages of development. Many organizations over the last ten years have started to become more sensitive to the privacy issues, although the attractive business value of consumers' personal information still tempts many others to breach users' privacy. The Fair Trade Commission's Fair Information Practices are generally considered to be a useful guideline for organizations to use in establishing their privacy policies.

Hacking And Tracking: How Our Privacy is Compromised by Internet Technology

The internet has enabled us to improve communication, erase physical barriers, expand our education, and improve our general quality of life. However, an individual's right to privacy is also seriously challenged in the internet era. For example, the information sent over the internet, which is a large network of networks, passes through hundreds and thousands of computers on the network before reaching the intended recipient computer. Each of these intermediary computers is able to monitor, capture, and store the information that passes through it. Such collections of personal data and the subsequent use of the data are a breach of privacy since the individual has no knowledge or control of this flow of data. She or he can neither access the information nor change and/or delete the information even when it is incorrect.

Each computer connected to the internet is identified by a unique address, known as the internet protocol (IP) address, which allows a computer to send and receive information over the internet. With technological advances, it is possible for one party (e.g, merchants) to track the internet users' online activities without the users' knowing it. Such internet activity information includes, for example, the online newsgroups or files an individual has visited, the web sites and pages browsed, and the items inspected or bought on the internet. To organizations, this information has a high business value because it helps them to determine who is visiting their web sites and what potential customers seem to be interested in buying. Because of its identifiable nature, an IP address is regarded in some countries as personal information. However, in the U.S., an IP address is not counted as a piece of personal information. This difference in the legal status of IP addresses has a significant implication. While the U.K. and a number of other European countries hold that, unless sanctioned by the website visitor's consent, a website that provides for third-party interception of IP addressing information and traffic data may be committing a criminal offense. In the U.S., such interception and data collection is not illegal.

Search History and Internet Anonymity: A Trail Telling Our Whereabouts

Most of us use at least one search engine, such as Google, MSN, or Yahoo, on a daily basis. Frequently, search engines track each one of their users' searches. They can record users' IP addresses, the search terms used, the time of the search, and other information. Since ISPs (internet service providers such as Comcast, Netzero, or Earthlink) can connect their subscribers' IP addresses with their account information, the subscribers' search history, together with their personal information, may be tracked and stored. According to a CNET News survey in 2006, there is a considerable amount of variation among the major search engines in terms of keeping information regarding users' search activities. However, not all search engines keep users' identity and/or activity information. Ixquick, for example, is a metasearch engine that allows users to search in anonymity. The company's practice is to delete all users' personal search details from its log files. The company's privacy policy indicates its belief that if the company retained the information, it would eventually be misused. Users should pay attention to the privacy policy of the ISP and search engines before using their services. There are other search engines and software that also provide internet anonymity.

Social Networks: We Treasure Our Right to Express Ourselves
Social networking websites are websites where people with similar hobbies or interests can be introduced to other people through their friends. MySpace.com is an extremely popular website that allows people to set up profiles, post pictures, and publish blogs. Members can invite current friends to join and can look for new friends within the network.
Often you may not know all of the people who belong to your network. The profiles, pictures, and blogs are a way of communicating your interests to the other members of the social network. Popular social networking websites include Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook. Legislators and law enforcement officers have been attracted to these social networking websites because of the ease with which sexual predators have targeted minors who use these them. In addition to these risks, social networking sites pose the same problem as blogs, message boards, and personal websites: the users never know who will read their profiles or look at their pictures.