Privacy, Online and Off
Privacy concerns have become an increasingly large issue over the past few years due to technological advancements. Data mining and malware affect anyone who uses a device, as personal information is often readily available to corporations. It does not stop at online privacy, as technologies such as the automatic license plate reader makes your location easily discernible. According to Catherine Crump, license plate readers are not only used to detect criminals, but also collect data on all American citizens.
Anything you post online is a "tattoo" of sorts, as described by Juan Enriquez. Online posts have staying power due to the ability to re-post other's content. Anything shared online is essentially as permanent as a tattoo.
Additionally, Andy Yen believes that the Internet was not designed for privacy, as advertisements often directly target consumers based on their interests and data.
These issues affect nearly everyone, as personal information is almost never completely private when using online services. I believe that finding an alternative to or doing away with malware and cookies can help solve the privacy issue. Additionally, advertisements should, morally, not be targeted based on your data. However, you can change some of these settings, such as Google's targeted ads.
I have turned off targeted ads, but I often still get recommendations based on items I was previously shopping for, or even topics I have shown only mild interest in. Concerns about our devices :listening" to us have also been brought up, especially regarding the Amazon Alexa and "Hey Siri" feature on iPhones. More regulations regarding Internet privacy, along with conscious choice by consumers to be cautious when posting online-keeping mind of their digital footprint-can increase your privacy online. Additionally, virtual private networks (VPN), have been cited as helpful due to hiding your IP address and data from hackers, though nothing is 100% private.
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