Internet Enhanced Concern on Data Mining, Internet Cookies, and Search Engines - Essay Example

Private Debate Name Class Unit Introduction As the internet has evolved, it has become a part of our daily life. The use of internet has increased with connections getting cheaper. The rise of internet use in daily life has led to privacy concerns (Smith, Dinev & Xu, 2011). The privacy debate that has been raised by internet users is mostly based on the two issues known as internet specific and internet enhanced concerns. The use of search engines and cookies has led to more concern for privacy. Data mining technology in the internet has made it vulnerable to violations of privacy. Use of the internet has blurred the line between public and private information leading to debate (Acquisti, John & Lowenstein, 2009). For internet users, their information privacy is a major issue of concern. In some cases, users are unaware that their personal information is revealed when they go online (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). In some cases, there has been use of confidential information online by entrepreneurs who sell to marketing companies. The research paper looks at the ways in which internet has caused an ethical debate on our information privacy. Privacy Law prohibits one from sharing person private information without consent. But internet privacy is not well defined by law. The rise of the internet has led to this law being disregarded and personal information is being shared through unauthorized means. For individuals, they have vested interest to protect their personal information. Privacy of information prohibits intrusion to private information (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). Internet enhanced concern Data mining The use of data gathering tools in the internet has been on the rise (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). Companies have been using the tolls to gather data on online users, which pose a threat to privacy for online users. In some cases, there is sale of personal data online without the owner’s knowledge by online entrepreneurs. Data mining technology has led to users being more vulnerable to violations of privacy. The technology uses artificial intelligence and patterns. This makes it possible to match patterns and form relationships which extract data that was hidden. Using data mining, it is possible to extract large amount of data. The applications, thus make it possible to gain access to data which is private (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Internet-specific concern Internet cookies Internet cookies are data gathering technique. This enables business users to access and store information about those who visits their sites (Smith, Dinev & Xu, 2011). This is done without consulting the user in most instances. Online agencies such as double click use cookies in their marketing campaign. The company places advertisements in any host website. When a user visits the website that the company has placed their advert, a cookie is sent from both the advertising system and the requested site. The cookie in the user system is then used by the company to conduct its marketing through gaining access to personal data. The access to user system enables the company to construct a user profile which can be used for direct advertisement (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). There has been debate by those advocating for internet privacy that cookies violate user privacy. This is due to fact that they record and monitor internet user without their consent (Peace & Hartzel, 2002). To respond to privacy violations by cookies, there has been development of privacy enhancing tools. One f the tools developed earlier is pgcookie. There are also features on the search engines which allow users to block cookies. This is an internet specific concern that has led to internet debate on privacy (Acquisti, John & Lowenstein, 2009). Search engines Search facilities used by the internet have led to ease of access to personal information. Personal information that was hard to find prior to advancement in internet is now readily available. For example, one can enter the name of an individual in the search engine and gain access to their personal information (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). In most cases, the individual is unaware that their information is contained in the search engine database. This makes it a violation of one’s privacy which has also raised issues of privacy on search engines. The issues of privacy associated with search engine have been promoted by internet. The issue has led to the information stored in the internet being seen as public information. There have been raised question whether internet is a private or a public place (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Google privacy issues Google has been criticized on privacy issues. The company has been accused of storing users private information in their internet based services. Though gathering of information can be ethical and very useful, Google have been used of using loose policies which makes the information available to third party (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). The company has also been manipulating users through different search engines with an aim of gaining information. Another feature by the company that has violated privacy is Gmail. The company email services have a great number of users due to storage space. The issue arises due to fact that even when the user deletes the email, it is still stored in the company database. Everything that a user sends or receives is stored by the company. The company uses scanning software to check user email in order to send relevant ads. The fact that Google stores the users’ emails make it easier for them to create a detailed user profile. This is unethical and violates user privacy. Use of Google map is another area where internet has led to breach of privacy. Through checking the frequent searched locations by the user, Google can be able to locate a person area of residence (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Vulnerability of digital information While the internet has continued to gain popularity over the years, the threat to information privacy has increased. The growth of technology has led to the information age where information drives business, government and society. There are companies whose main activity involve information stored in digital format. There has been argument that technology has transformed information nature making it more vulnerable to violation of privacy. The valuable information has been made venerable making it easier to trade. The use of computers has reduced costs and the space required to store the information (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). The speed of information transfer has been enhanced which have led to information being widespread. This has led to a situation where internet is on the cross roads. The need for information and its exposure to violation of privacy have been enhanced. This has led to a fact that the information is more prone to lack of privacy. Most of the internet users pose their information online with a notion that it is less important to interest anyone. This has led to more exposure to those who have taken comfort thinking they are anonymous (Acquisti, John & Lowenstein, 2009). Another issue that has sparked the internet privacy debate is unwanted disclosures. Digital information can be easily manipulated, which makes it vulnerable to abuses. The advancement of the internet has linked different databases into a single large database. It has thus become easier for malicious damage or disclosure of private information. Personal data in these databases are sometimes sold even without the knowledge of the owner. Research has proved that in some instances, personal information is transferred to over five computers in a single day (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). Information gathering technologies Information gathering technologies have also been a contributor to internet privacy violation. In most cases, the data is given by the user expecting it to be utilized for the right purpose. For example, one may register in a certain online contest which may lead to giving personal information (Ribble & Bailey, 2005). These contests are in most cases fake which lead to their information being collected for other uses. Accessing a website gives information about the user IP address, computer being used and browser version. This information is gathered without the user consent. As the technology advances, internet privacy is more enhanced. For example, the development of computer harddrive has led to hard drives which can be detected by browser (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). The increased use of the internet for shopping, entertainment, banking and making transactions among other have made privacy debate essential. Internet access among the population is unavoidable. The information that is collected in the internet can also be processed using the same system. Public have become sensitized on the threat that is posed by internet privacy. Most of the internet users are concerned with online tracking which they perceive as a harmful activity (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). Poor laws on internet privacy It is a constitutional right in democratic countries for information privacy. This has led to internet users calling for laws which will enable them to be protected against violation of internet privacy. Current laws in most countries are not capable to protect individuals against violations of their right to privacy online. There have been several instances where internet companies who have violated user privacy have won in courts. An example is Double click who won the case in 2001 against privacy invasion. The legal protection of information has not been addressed comprehensively (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Internet has created a platform where websites can collect personal data in a detailed way than before its invention. Even those who do not use internet, their information can still be accessed. For example, shoppers’ cards and banking transactions are all connected online through internet. This makes even those who avoid internet due to privacy issues to be exposed. This makes it prudent to have a discussion that can come with ways in which legal protection can be advocated for. Internet has made privacy to be a concern in all areas of life (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). Cloud computing Use of cloud computing has led to more concern over data privacy. The technology was involved in issues regarding privacy since its take off. Due to security agencies concern with personal data, most users have opted to use sites which provide anonymity. There are several sites that have been designed to offer users anonymity since they are not supposed to register personal information. There has been an increase in the number of users in these sites due to privacy concern (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Monitoring Monitoring of emails and visits to websites by the employers and government agencies is another concern that have raised a debate (Smith, Dinev & Xu, 2011). The increase of governments monitoring of individuals due to terror attacks have led to severe violation of privacy. Search engines have been requested by the government agencies to release data which violates user privacy. Several search engines have complied with governments requests making their data available. The response by the consumers over the exposure of their privacy was an indicator of how they are concerned (Fogel & Nehmad, 2009). In some organizations, the employers are able to monitor how the staff use internet. They are able to look at the employees’ computer activities as well as the emails sent. The organizations carry this activity without notifying the employees. The companies are able to fire the employees if they find misuse of internet or any online activity that violates their laws. This has spark outrage as the employees feel that their privacy is being invaded (Acquisti, John & Lowenstein, 2009). Illegal online activities Identity theft, phishing and pharming have also led to consumers being more aware on privacy. The fact that use of internet makes it possible to steal identity has made it an issue of privacy. Individuals have been using identity of another person to withdraw money and other valuables. Online business has been accused of being careless in handling private information on customer. Identity theft has been on rise with individuals having their security compromised online and losing cash. Online transactions have led to cases where credit card numbers have been stolen (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). One method in which private information has been stolen is phishing. Internet thieves use disguised identity and induce another person to give out their personal information. For example, one may receive an email that asks for personal information by an institution which claims you are a member. The email may lead an individual to a fake site where they are supposed to enter their credit card number. Pharming is used by the hackers to dub the internet users using domain name fraudulently. The hackers then use the fraudulent website to direct traffic where they can steal users’ data (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Privacy is a human right and those who have undergone privacy violation online undergo stigma and stress. For the organizations, losing online data leads to loss, lawsuits and bad publicity. This makes it prudent to protect individuals and organisation privacy online. When dealing with internet transactions and data exchange, trust is what protects privacy. Those engaged in the transactions have to trust each other (Peace & Hartzel, 2002). Increased awareness Consumer resistance to data mining and tracking of the sites they visit is very strong. There should be no intrusion into the internet privacy without having permission by the user. Consumers want a situation where the firms which violate internet privacy are held accountable (Ribble & Bailey, 2005). The rise of identity theft is a clear indication that not everyone is fully aware of online criminal activities. The public debate have been aimed at compelling the concerned parties to enhance internet privacy and ensure those against it are held responsible (Belanger & Crossler, 2011). Conclusion Internet plays an important part in our daily life. Due to growth of internet, its access globally has increased. Internet use has led to ethical debate on information privacy due to several ways in which internet privacy is compromised. The main tools that have led to compromise of internet privacy are internet specific and internet enhanced. This involves the use of cookies and search engines. Cookies enable websites to track and collect user data without consent. Search engines have also made private data stored online to become available to public. There is also use of technologies such as data mining, which have compromised privacy. Companies such as Google have been involved in scandals where they are accused of encroaching to users’ privacy. There are weak laws on internet privacy protection for the user which have made it more vulnerable. Government agencies and employers have been tracking users’ activities online. Identity theft, phishing and pharming have been on the rise. All these activities have sparked an ethical debate on internet information privacy. References Acquisti, A., John, L & Lowenstein, G 2009, What is privacy worth? Workshop on Information Systems and Economics (WISE). Belanger, F & Crossler, R.E 2011, “Privacy in the Digital Age: A Review of Information Privacy Research in Information Systems”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 35, No.4, p. 1017-1041. Fogel, J & Nehmad, E 2009, "Internet Social Network Communities: Risk taking, Trust, and Privacy Concerns", Computers in Human Behavior, Vol.25, no.1, pp.153-160. Peace, A.G & Hartzel, K.S 2002, “Ethical concerns raised by the use of the internet in academia”, Journal of Information Ethics, Fall, pp.17-32. Ribble, M.S & Bailey, G.D 2005, “Developing ethical direction”, Learning & Leading with Technology, Vol.32, no.7, p.36-38. Smith, H Dinev, T & Xu, H 2011, “Information Privacy Research: An Interdisciplinary Review”, MIS Quarterly, Vol.35, no.4, pp. 989-1015. Read More