Privacy can also be regulated through the government, however many laws/provisions/amendments stand in the way of allowing them to have the ability to regulate one's privacy online. Even the fourth amendment, talks about the privacy of the American people and the government cannot interfere with someone's privacy without probable cause. The novel Little Brother deals with the American government taking away the people's constitutional rights given to them in the fourth amendment and how Marcus continually fights for the rights of the American people, by referring to the content in the Constitution.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
How can privacy be regulated?
Regulating privacy online is essential in keeping one safe when using social networking sites. Many articles suggest that a majority of children use the internet frequently and do not not know how to protect themselves online and parents are increasingly having a harder time regualting their children's internet use. Many websites have begun offering insight on how to regualte one's privacy when using the web and social networking sites. These sites talk about how even browsing the web can be risky if you are not careful enough. Many search engines offer options for securing your information while you are searching the web. Cory Doctrow's Little Brother offers insight on how many do not how to protect themselves online and how risky the online world can be. For example, Marcus had to take many precautions in order to keep his identity a secret from the government, including having a key signing party. Also, at the end of the story Marcus shows the middle school kids how to protect themselves when going online. Regulating privacy also comes into the story when the Department of Homeland Security takes away the privacy many after the events of a tragic bombing.
Privacy can also be regulated through the government, however many laws/provisions/amendments stand in the way of allowing them to have the ability to regulate one's privacy online. Even the fourth amendment, talks about the privacy of the American people and the government cannot interfere with someone's privacy without probable cause. The novel Little Brother deals with the American government taking away the people's constitutional rights given to them in the fourth amendment and how Marcus continually fights for the rights of the American people, by referring to the content in the Constitution.
Overall, one should regulate their own privacy when on the web through privacy settings in order to keep his or herself safe from criminals online and the government has the ability to regulate one's privacy online. However, the Constitution prevents the government form regulating our privacy online. One should regulate their own privacy especially when using social networking sites such as twitter, and Facebook in order to protect their identity. This can be accomplished through privacy settings, using multiple passwords for websites that require a log-in and making sure not to broadcast information you consider private on social-networking sites.
Privacy can also be regulated through the government, however many laws/provisions/amendments stand in the way of allowing them to have the ability to regulate one's privacy online. Even the fourth amendment, talks about the privacy of the American people and the government cannot interfere with someone's privacy without probable cause. The novel Little Brother deals with the American government taking away the people's constitutional rights given to them in the fourth amendment and how Marcus continually fights for the rights of the American people, by referring to the content in the Constitution.
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Like Julia said, privacy can be regulated in a variety of ways. Privacilla.org suggests that privacy should be regulated on three different levels: government, industry, and consumer. (http://www.privacilla.org/business/howtoregulate.html) Obviously, consumer would be the most favorable level because it lets the everyday person choose their privacy settings and doesn't generalize regulation to the point that it doesn't effectively cover everyone. Government enforcement, settings on the Internet, and simply locks and blinds on one's house are all components of keeping someone's life and activities private. However, there are still many problems with this regulation.
ReplyDeleteFor example, websites like Google and Facebook seem to go to great lengths to protect one's privacy, but if someone wants to change their settings they find themselves going through pages of complicated checklists and procedures so that in the end one doesn't even know if their privacy is being protected. Google recently updated its privacy policies, which were heavily criticized by the general public, as seen here: http://www.slashgear.com/googles-new-privacy-policy-faces-worldwide-criticism-01216406/ and in many other articles. Google claims that all of the data sharing between the websites it owns will help to 'enhance user experience,' but what if someone doesn't want things like their gmail and youtube accounts to be connected? Too bad. There is no way to keep them separate, as they are both managed by Google. These 'conveniences' that Google has set up take a negative turn when they are more trouble than they are worth and someone just wants to protect their privacy by not letting everything they do on the Internet be shared between various sites.
In Little Brother, Marcus tries to make his own regulation of privacy by using Paranoid XBox servers and wireless connections. This escalates into a huge, almost cult-like following where hundreds to thousands of 'X-netters' look up to him and go around jamming to mess up the government's data collecting. Just the amount of work that Marcus has to go through to keep himself and his privacy safe from the United States government (the entity that is supposed to protect American citizens, according to the Constitution) shows that regulation of privacy has gone way overboard and needs to be toned down in a way that can still ensure everyone's safety.
Overall, privacy needs to be regulated in a way that can easily be applied to the common citizen but isn't a hindrance to their freedoms and what they want to do. Privacy is supposed to be a useful thing, and many groups such as website owners and government officials need to realize that to keep the masses happy, everyone needs to be able to dictate what kind of regulation they want to receive - or at least, have a clear explanation of what that regulation is and how to use it.
I agree with both Julia's. The only true, solidified way to protect your privacy is to regulate it yourself. This can be done by not sharing personal information online, and by using the several different privacy options that social-networking websites have. This article from George Mason University (http://mercatus.org/publication/online-privacy-regulation) shows potential legislation that was discussed in 2010 in Congress to protect web-users privacy.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is difficult to regulate ones privacy when one does not know that a website is tracking their searches on the internet. Companies can regulate what types of advertisements you see based on previous searches. Certain websites keep track of what people look at and they use that information to show them other things/products that they may be interested in.
In Little Brother, Marcus takes several precautions to make sure his online privacy was secure. By using the Xnet and incrypting his data, Marcus did everything he thought he could to ensure his privacy online. He also had a key party for Xnet so he could securely speak to his friends by using their keys.
Overall, it is hard to secure online privacy, and websites, while they do offer security options, often make it difficult to know what exactly you have set as private and public.
The means in which Marcus protected himself from DHS and other privacy infiltrators were sensationalized through homemade LED micro-spycam dectors, Xnet, and TOR encryption. The risk for government snooping of personal information is minimal at best because of Constitutional restrictions. Doctrow's Little Brother creates an unrealistic totalitarianish/Fahrenheit 451-esque society that does not reflect actual levels of cyber protection needed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are certain types cyber attacks that deem a moderate level of security neccessary. Most websites that provide information on the most effective ways to protect online privacy include common sense/ smart Internet surfing techniques like not providing contact # on public networks, restraining from scam email subscriptions requesting financial info., and avoiding sites that offer free cash (https://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy). However, there were more involved means of keeping a low-key status online.
"Cookies" are tidbits of information that Web sites store on your
computer, temporarily or more-or-less permanently. In many cases
cookies are useful and inocuous (for saved passwords and user IDs). Yet, some "cookies" also track your every click, measure the time spent on each site, and record your online activities for public scrutiny. With Internet Explorer, you can also turn on cookies for a site temporarily and then disable them when you no longer need them. It just requries more computer savviness.
Overall, I believe technology should be regulate through common sense and more complex privacy settings (inactivation of cookies). I do believe that we should not go overboard in security options however.