How Far Is Too Far When It Comes Privacy?

With the current technology on the rise and its ability to learn and track what we do, eat, whom we talk to and when we sleep it is such a big part of our daily lives that consumers don’t realize the possible dangers. The issue that come from letting these websites, computers and phones etc. can have a huge impact with our daily life. What else do these companies know about us and how much freedom and privacy do we really have. Allowing Big brother and little brother being in bed with one another. Allowing big name companies and smaller companies to have access to literally everything that we search on the internet and simply what we like is a problem.

Privacy has become a prominent topic in academic and social debate throughout the country. In “Term of Service” by Jacob Silverman, Silverman argues that American citizens today are unaware that their private information is often shown and are no longer safe from the public eye. After all, the integration of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter has made it impossible to keep anything private. Sharing life events on social media has become the new social norm in the United States. However, this new trend has left the online community with a false sense of security, leaving them venerable against data mining, profiling, and unknown surveillance issues by third party miners across the country. With no end to this threat, how can causal social media users defend themselves without any assistants? The federal government should adopt stronger privacy laws like they have in Europe. They should come up with a digital bill of reforms to help better protect the online community, better inform the public about data mining threats, and companies should get government approval for any data retrieval before they are used for financial gains.

One of the biggest concerns in the United States of America today is privacy. For its citizens, this concern is due mostly in part to new developments in technology and big data collection. Yes, this technology and data collection is beneficial for American citizens and is a step in the right direction for humankind, but to what extent? The CQ Researcher article titled, “Big Data and Privacy” by Tom Price answers just that question. More specifically, a monumental factor for technological advancement this article explains is the use of personal information by the producers of new technology and the collection of big data in this day in age. What makes this debate on the violation of privacy through the use personal information by businesses, as well as, the general population, is that big data collection is the staple of technological advancement and serves as a convenience for Americans. Although big data collection and technology serves as an extreme benefit in relation to convenience and societal advancement for those who use and consume it, how far will scientists, researchers, businesses, and the government push before it becomes a violation our privacy as citizens of the United States of America?

In “Privacy under Attack,” the authors discuss some potential ways of how our privacy could be in danger or stolen by companies or accessible by administration and corporations. According to the authors, some ways that our privacy could be in danger are first through video records and picture taken by traffic cameras and surveillance cameras for us. Second through illegal “wiretaps” by the government that could hear our conversations. Third, our privacy and personal data could be “monitored by corporations through the role of club cards, raffles, or refunds that outside companies’ collection of data about us can then be sold without noticing, given consumers the optional to search for the box on any frame to indicate they don’t want their personal

He then uses ethos by discussing his role as “an operator of a small government-transparency Web site,” who does good for his site’s visitors when there is enough money to do so. Harper is a founding member of the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee for the Department of Homeland Security and an expert in the legal complications surrounding new technologies. He offers us this role to persuade readers to perceive him as a trustworthy person. Harper begins his essay by stating that if you surf the Web, you are part of the information economy. His essay, which was published in the Wall Street Journal, argues that the business models and opportunities used to customize advertising justifies the use of data mining. Because of advertising and the use of cookies, which are files used to track users in order to customize their experiences, companies such as Google are able to spend millions of dollars on free

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.

Brookman’s article ranges from how efforts to improve privacy laws have been futile and how privacy protections have actually diminished. Throughout the article, Brookman concludes that although the motions for privacy are far from actualization, the issue of privacy is slowly evolving and becoming more recognized. Brookman provides a solution for those concerned with protecting their privacy, but the main goal seems to be suggesting the reader to observe the real situation regarding privacy laws and protections and taking actions to protect their own privacy. This text is essential because of its truthful view and its suggestive manner. Parts of this article can easily be used in discussions regarding the privacy and protections. Several subsections of the articles address the dwindling control of consumers and their privacy and would serve to provide arguments for and against consumer

Over the past few years, the development of the Internet and the intrusive surveillance capabilities of these technologies have caused privacy to become a major political and social issue for millions of Americans who go online.  Companies employ a variety of tools to gather marketable information on American citizens.  Most of the use of this information is for personalized advertisement and to create databases of target audiences.  While these activities may appear to be nothing more than annoyances for a majority of Americans, there is the hidden danger of the loss of privacy.

In his essay “Why Privacy Matters” from The Wilson Quarterly, Jeffrey Rosen offers a compelling account of the harmful effects of eradicating our privacy. Rosen ventures into several different fields affected by the ever-growing intrusion of our privacy, offering a rich compendium of illustrations from the real world. From Monica Lewinsky’s fate under her investigation, to a Charles Schwab employee, Rosen offers a prolific arsenal of incidents where the dignity of privacy is challenged. In his descriptive examples, Rosen demonstrates a broad expertise within the field by taking his time to describe a careful characterization of each case by both implying his own personal experience

Something similar is happening with our cyber information. Internet service providers can collect information from users such as browsing information, location, financial, health information, etc. and sell that information to marketing and advertisement agencies. Sites such as Facebook can also track user’s online activity and sell that information to advertisers and third-party sites, an example of this is anytime a user logs into a site using Facebook it allows that company to track their online activity. Ultimately, people should be made aware of what is happening with their personal

However, the customers are the weaker side when they compete with the corporations. People have to spend so much time on privacy policies provided by the corporations, which most of the time do not match with the actual practice. Even more important is that the customers are not fully aware the action and the danger of data collection. Many people believe that the data collection would do no harm to them, and adversely it could become a mutual benefit as the corporations provide better service. However, it is not that simple. All of customers’ information is linked to people’s privacy. This collection could generate far-reaching effects, especially related to our lifestyles or sensitive medical histories. Samuel Greengard, the author of “Advertising Gets Personal”, writes about how data collection influences our lives. For example, the prospected employer may refuse to hire a person according to their medical record or personal lifestyle. It may lead to the exposition of all of the privacy (Greengard

Privacy is mainly about trying to improve your social and business opportunities by concealing the sorts of bad activities that would cause other people not to want to deal with you" (qtd in Shaw 23). The general population really has nothing to hide from the government. According to the government, if that is the case, then the public has nothing to fear and should relinquish all rights to privacy. While in theory, that would be a grand solution, but Americans still want to feel as if they have a choice who sees their information and what particular information is shared. Corporations, such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook, use our browser history and internet search patterns to solicit us and recommend things that we may be interested in. We still feel that we have privacy, since these companies provide us with encrypted devices, however they themselves invade our privacy and use our information for data mining purposes. This can be compared to "digital Stockholm syndrome" (27). Consumers do not give a second thought to the price and overlook the invasion in their privacy to get the latest and greatest

Many of us think that we are living in a state of safe technology where no one is following you when you are online shopping, going on your social media pages, such as Facebook, or searching for online travel deals. How can a customer protect their privacy? “Mapping, and Sharing, the Consumer Genome” written by Natasha Singer, will tell us how the digital marketer provides sensitive information such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, interests, place of residence and purchases, and how it is being used, along with the concerns the consumers will face (Singer, 2012). The author proved her points based on her research, interviews and an expert opinion on a particular company called “Acxiom Corporation.”

Recently the topic of privacy has been brought up in the news since President Trump signed a bill to repeal internet privacy, giving internet provider companies the right to sell your internet history (Fung, 2017). Some say this is isn’t right, and that the government has no right to delve into our business. Other people think that as long as you aren’t look at anything bad, you should have nothing to worry about. Privacy isn’t an entirely necessary thing to have, but it is a nice thing to have. And in today’s world, where technology is taking over almost every aspect of our lives, soon enough the government might be able to control us.

Mark Zuckerberg claimed that privacy is no longer a “social norm” (theguardian.com). In the case of Edward Snowden’s revelations, what constitutes privacy is still a fervent debate. Privacy is not binary, being either private or public, but exists in an intermediate state. Privacy is not secrecy, or keeping information strictly to yourself, but awareness of who access to it, who can use it, and who can disclose it (Richards 410). With big data, potentially identifiable metadata is perceived as a loss of privacy. Privacy is more than mere protection against the collection of data, but control over the flow of information. Data brokers and companies signify an asymmetrical control (cbsnews.com). Today’s privacy laws incorporate the “Fair Information Principles”, where consumers regain control over their personal information (Richards 412). Companies employ “privacy self-management” with privacy notices and the choice to opt out of agreements before disclosing personal information (Solove 1880). Few read the entire “terms and conditions” before giving consent and fewer follow its modifications. This creates a “consent dilemma”, describing consumer difficulty in weighing cost to benefits of service (Solove 1881). It would take users hundreds of hours per year to accomplish this task (Richards 413). Privacy oversight cannot be regulated solely by government, but must be implemented by the companies to