Privacy and Internet Policy - Research Paper Example

?Privacy and Internet Policy Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Introduction Internet plays a major role in the modern world, not only in the lives of individuals but also in the day to day functions of organizations. Companies as well as individuals are suing the internet as a medium of communication. Apart from being a cheap, easy, quick and efficient means of communication, the internet also helps us in many ways. It facilitates the advancement and expansion of education, to make financial transactions, including purchases and sales etc. The society has, thus, accepted the internet technology as an integral part of the present day. However, the laws regarding online privacy do not seem to provide the required level of safety or protection to the users and, therefore, it needs more development besides rectification of existing errors. Purpose of this Study: This study intends to assimilate the information about internet policies and privacy. Internet policy is an absolute necessity in organizations because it helps them to prevent their employees from wasting precious working hours on extraneous matters. This study will include an analysis of various reasons that justify internet policies, besides dwelling on the significance of using internet properly. It will also suggest a framework for the implementation of such policies so as to ensure proper utilization of the internet. Applicability: In organizational context, internet policies are applicable to all the employees in an organization as well as the employers. The management often attempts to monitor workplace activities and the employees want their privacy. Conflict arises when the policies are too rigid to compromise the primary need of individual privacy. Though the concept of privacy needs to be valued, one cannot claim it for misusing the infrastructure and other facilities being provided to them by the management. Protection of Private Information: Everybody person has the right to privacy of personal information which is private in nature. George Reynolds, in his book “Ethics in Information Technology,” argues that “Privacy is the right to be left alone – the most comprehensive of rights, and the right most valued by a free people” (Reynolds, 2010). People prefer to keep their private information secret because they do not want it to be misused by others. So they safeguard it with the help of laws as also with the help of software etc. The concept of consumer profiling is also relevant in this context. It deals with sketching of important psycho-graphical and demographical information concerning the user of a product. Such data consists of details like gender, age group, education, place of living, profession, income scale, marital status etc. Some companies explicitly gather personal information about the users of internet when they register at their websites by way of making them fill certain forms. The threat in this case is that personal data is collected and certain companies sell this information to other firms without the consent of consumers. Thus, the internet exposes individuals to the threat of leaking their private information. Therefore, protecting consumer data is a significant concern while using the internet for various purposes. Though all companies have a privacy statement, explicitly given on their websites, one cannot rule out the possibility that “existing privacy enhancing technologies fail in the event of a vendor operating against their stated privacy policy, leading to loss of customer privacy and security” (Pearce & Bertok, 1999, para. 1). Personal information transacted through online can be misused, which will lead to failure in safeguarding customer privacy. There are some laws to prevent the misuse of personal data, but these are not sufficient to fully safeguard privacy. Therefore, there is an urgent need to enhance or supplement the existing regulations to completely prevent the misuse. Employers resort to workplace monitoring to make sure that their employees do not waste their time doing extraneous things while at work. It can be done in different ways such as computer monitoring, telephone monitoring, e-mail and voice mail monitoring, video monitoring etc. The employer can track the information about the sites the employees visit, examine their hard disks, internet usage, email details etc. Thus, the employees remain subjects of monitoring in almost all places in their work site except in locker rooms and bathrooms. Obviously, the intention behind such exercises is to ensure that employees attend to their work in the allocated office time and do not waste it. The employees may also tend to misuse the internet and other facilities in the organization. Therefore, in order to prevent such practices, the employers use workplace monitoring. Similarly, electronic health records also need strict security and privacy. “The Electronic Health Record (EHR) is a longitudinal electronic record of patient’s health information generated by one or more encounters in any care delivery setting” (National Institute of Health; National Center for Research Resources: Electronic Health Records Overview, 2006, p. 1). It is needless to mention that every patient has the right to keep the information about his or her disease as well as treatment as secret. If such information reaches unauthorized hands, it may entail several problems for the patient. Therefore, the EHR system should follow correct privacy and internet security standards, because it consist of health information regarding patients and it is in digital format. It includes of wide collection of data and information. So the privacy and internet security is necessary for EHR. Corporate, Company, or Employer: Organizations implement computers and internet usage policy, to place restrictions on employees with a view to optimize efficiency. They also monitor the activities of the employees, which is known as work monitoring. It is basically used to improve work efficiency and to reduce waste of time. The employers are also responsible to provide training to the employees regarding internet access rules, usage, surfing, online buying, and downloading etc. In some organizations, each movement of the employees is monitored in the workplace. Their internet histories, hard disks, official phone calls, voice mails, etc are being monitored by the employer. Some exceptions are made in the case of private calls, private mails and video monitoring in places like locker room and bathroom. Employees usually engage in entertainment related activities like downloading of movies, songs, video clips etc. They also download software or participate in social networking etc. All can hamper their efficiency and adversely affect their output. Besides, downloading bulk files will also slow down the internet and reduce the disk space, which in turn, will negatively impact the performance of other employees as well. Such issues are major concerns for the management and this forces them to monitor workplaces. Many companies have sacked their employees for the violation of company policies. However, in a few cases, the employees are permitted to use internet facilities privately. But there would be restrictions for that also. Downloading of video clips, songs etc will not be permitted because of copyright issues. Only social networking and chatting will be allowed in such cases and that also only during the time of lunch break, recess or afterhours etc. Compliance: Policies relating to internet technology are also applicable to students who use such services in their schools and colleges. Privately owned computer systems or those owned by a research project or linked to the various data network or other campus also need to have some policies on the same lines. The students who use computers belonging to others and who access campus network both directly or through the Virtual Private Network (VPN) need to guarantee that the computer is being used in compliance with the policies laid down. Penalty: The students and other users, who are permitted to access the University’s systems and network services, must comply with the university’s policies. When a member of the university community is found to be in violation of policy, corrective action can be taken by the authority concerned by way of standard disciplinary process. Privacy Considerations: In the current world of technological advancement, where billions of people are using internet, threat to privacy is a major concern. The people create several accounts in social networking like Face Book, Twitter, Orkut and information related to credit cards and other significant documents are being passed through internet. Internet privacy also concerns anxiety about information being accessed by website operators and by “spyware,” and regarding the amount to which law enforcement representatives are permitted to check an individual’s internet activities. “Internet privacy is a broad term referring to the various concerns, technologies, and strategies for protecting information, communications, and choices that are meant to be private” (What is Internet Privacy, 2003, para. 1). As with most websites and the confidentiality policy, we gather and use the data controlled in log files. The information in the register records comprise your IP (internet protocol) address, The internet service provider and the browser use to stay on the site like the Internet Explorer or Firefox, the occasion of anyone visiting the website site and the various pages visited in the site. Examples of Internet Policy: In corporate sector, internet policies are very stringent and the employees are given appropriate training and regular instructions for usage. The corporate IT policies should conserve the network capacity and promote employee productivity by reducing the use of information technology for trivial personal matters. In Workplace, this policy characteristically implements time limitations for employees when using the internet for non professional purposes and also instructing them what kind of sites are they allowed browsing in the office during work time. Employers are mainly implementing workplace monitoring to prevent the misuse, and the employees need to appreciate this fact. These kinds of policies must be used in homes also, and parents do this to prevent misuse of internet by children. Closing Statement: Privacy and Internet Policy are common issues faced by today’s world and these are inextricably linked. Most people access use the internet for communication today.  This subjects the users to whatever the internet policy is at the place where they access the internet and also in the use of those resources in the area of work; school; library; home; wireless and, any other location. In the modern hi-tech world, millions of citizens are exposed to private threats. Proper caution can only ensure safety and also there need to be more stringent laws for safeguarding the interests of internet users. Reference List National Institute of Health; National Center for Research Resources: Electronic Health Records Overview, (2006). The MITRE Corporation. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.ncrr.nih.gov/publications/informatics/ehr.pdf Pearce, C., Bertok, P & Schyndel, R. V. (1999). Protecting Consumer Data in Composite Web Services. Global Spec. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.globalspec.com/reference/33818/203279/protecting-consumer-data-in-composite-web-services Reynolds, G. W. (2010). Ethics in Information Technology. 3rd ed. Boston, Course Technology, Cenage Learning. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=xZhwj4VjHfkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Ethics+in+Information+Technology,+3rd+ed.&hl=en&ei=RToJTsL9I5DjrAfD-cShDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false What is Internet Privacy, (2003). Wise Geek. Retrieved June 28, 2011, from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-internet-privacy.htm Read More