Stage Set for Showdown on Online Privacy by Edward Wyatt 9 Nov 2010 NY Times
This article discussed the idea of a ‘do not track’ feature that would be attached to certain websites or web browsers. This do not track idea is similar to the do not call lists that circulated during the height of telemarketing. There are opposing viewpoints by government officials about internet privacy. On the one hand top commerce officials would like to keep the internet self-regulated, each site presenting its own privacy policy, collecting information from you but letting you know about it and telling you what they are going to do with it. On the other hand, top trade commission officials are leaning toward having websites or browers that allows the user to choose whether or not they would like their information to be shared, a do not track option. However, both sides have valid arguments as to how these would both be good and bad for both consumers and the technological networks on which they rely. People would like their information to be kept private by firms they are doing business with, but turning off tracking altogether would make it difficult for systems and commerce to keep running as it is at that high a technological level. In the meantime, while this decision is being made, there will probably be higher standards on privacy policy.
I think that privacy on the internet is very important because so much of our information is shared to online firms and technology makes it so simple to store that information and send it off or do with it whatever you choose. Each site does give a privacy policy but rarely do they ever get read. They are several long-winded paragraphs long and most consumers simply click agree and go to the next step, not really aware of what their information may be used for. However, this it a difficult thing to monitor because of how free the web is.
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