The Security of Personal Information - Assignment Example

Data protection is an important issue. Companies or agencies must declare what data they are using as well as for which purpose they are using the information. Additionally, only relevant information should be stored, those that are needed should be discarded in order to protect the person concerned.On one hand, today’s advanced marketing systems want to use personal records in order to target specific services for certain individuals. This availability of records has made background checks easier.

The great thing however is that the government of Australia is taking steps in order to protect its citizen’s privacy. The government has formulated laws restricting the kind of information any agency might require. Examining mails and tapping phone lines are also deemed illegal unless mandated by law.As individuals, we have certain responsibilities to help protect ourselves. We should know and monitor the information we give away and the purposes of its use, after all our safety lies in the security of our personal information.

Censorship is a hotbed for debates among the general public. Certain countries set limits when it comes to access to certain sites and information. For example in the US, the government is seeking to limit or at least monitor the propagation or access of pornography on the Internet. The same goes for Germany who absolutely prohibits the right to use Neo-Nazi sites. In China, the government has agreements with ISP providers. All of these countries have their own ethical reasons for the prohibitions.

There are many kinds of censorship. There is one imposed by a governing body and the other a kind of self-imposed censorship for personal reasons. The censorship that is imposed by a governing body is usually done when a certain material does not coincide with that governing body’s belief or standing. The other kind of censorship is when a certain author, publication, or etc decides to censor their material for fear of recrimination from the government. It may also be that they are simply monitoring to which audience the movie, music, information, would reach.