Are Privacy Policies Still for Real?

Internet users are asked to provide some personal information every time they sign up for a website. When they do this, they do not bother reading the privacy policies of these websites. Without their knowledge, there are different ways in which this uploaded information can be used. The users only become aware that this happens when they are affected in some way. With websites now literally relaxing their privacy policies, users might be up for some unexpected events.

It is surprising that many users do not think twice before giving up their information. Social networking companies have offers that come as freebies or added apps and services. Users who want to take advantage of these must first supply some information. Without second thought, many of them would willingly supply the data asked of them.

Some companies are careful with their privacy policies and how collected data will be treated. However, there is a move towards relaxing privacy policies. Privacy advocates say this is worrying because it is becoming all too common. With this move, users’ information will be more open to exploitation. This means that many websites are planning to use collected user data for other purposes.

It is disturbing because users’ information may be used in areas that they did not know about. Every user knows that the data they supply contains a lot of personally identifiable information. It includes date of birth, address, shopping history, location, and many other things that are freely supplied. This data can be a potential source of lucrative business. This can be used to identify individuals or groups for targeted advertising.

There are new kinds of companies that are becoming interested in using this data. When privacy policies become relaxed, these companies could possibly have access to it. Insurance companies are among those that can use this data to better know the interests of policy holders. They are interested in what clients buy, whether they smoke or not, what their favorite extreme sports are, etc. Social networks have a large amount of such information and it is readily available.

Facebook, Groupon and Linkedin admitted that they share data but are not involved in information selling. A representative said that social network users have control over the data that they share, especially photos. Facebook users, for example, can choose the appropriate privacy settings. They can opt to block those applications that they choose not to allow. Social networks say that while privacy policies may be relaxed, users are still protected. They just have to self-regulate every time they decide to share data online.

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The Balancing Quest is Still Ongoing

Striking a balance between consumer privacy protection and government control is very difficult and the battle is ongoing. Some say a solution is long overdue and online consumers have been hoping that this will end soon. Both privacy advocates and legislators are working hard, but they seem to be heading in opposite directions. Will the addition of regulations lead to the assurance of internet privacy, or could it be a question of self-regulation that is just not working?

Today, technology grows so fast that collecting consumer information can be done in many ways. Data collection becomes increasingly sophisticated and such data is very useful at some times, but at other times, it is not. There is an increase in privacy breaches, which indicates abuse of collected information. Therefore, laws concerning consumer data protection must be put into place.

A government official has recently called on representatives of some government agencies to stand as witnesses. They testified about the situation regarding information collection by some private companies. The representatives admitted that collection and compilation of personal profiles by these companies has been heightened. Some do it as part of their marketing and advertising campaigns, while others do it for other purposes. A lot of concerns have been raised regarding this, many of which remain unresolved.

The government has laid down the details of each step that it is taking to promote internet privacy. One of these is the enforcement of current laws that oblige companies to improve data protection strategies. Companies have agreed to sell personal information only in cases that are considered acceptable. It was admitted by some of the witnesses that the safeguards are not enough. They said that there is a need to pass legislation for the creation of a new set of rules. These rules would drive private industry to guarantee better safety for those consumers who use the internet.

If self-regulation among users and data gathering companies is maintained, there is no need to implement additional laws. On one hand, consumers should be conscientious about the information that they share online because when users are more careful, there will be less privacy issues. On the other hand, data gathering companies should treat private information with value. Users entrust their private information to them without any hesitation and with no thought that it could be used against them. Self-regulation should work both ways so that maximum consumer protection can be achieved.

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New Suggestions from Facebook

Facebook is still up at making innovations in its services despite some privacy concerns alongside with those changes. It could be remembered that the social networking giant received so much criticisms for several times. Some critics said that it has never learned its lesson. Here it is once again, changing its privacy settings and rolling out another feature without users’ knowledge.

The new service feature is called Tag Suggestions. Changes in Facebook’s privacy settings allow the feature to automatically recognize a user’s face. When an image is ready to be tagged, Tag Suggestions maps the user’s face and detects whether or not there are matching images in the same or other albums. If there are, then these images are automatically tagged, saving the user time in doing so individually.

It is clear that anybody aside from you can do the tagging. Chances are that anyone can tag you in something incriminating although they do not intend to. This is very possible to occur because the user might not individually inspect the tagged images for possible problems. How much more when someone would intentionally drag you into a compromised situation with your photos?

This feature was rolled out by the company in the later part of last year. Unlike the previous features when users were given the option to opt out beforehand, this time it is different. Facebook said users should experience how it is before they could change back the privacy settings. However, privacy advocates do not accept this as a valid reason. They say this is still Facebook’s old style of pushing new features without clear explanations as to what it is about. In addition, they also said that there seems to be a pattern of changing privacy settings first and letting users ask questions later. Facebook accepted its failure to clarify the issue among its users before the roll out started.

In an explanation, Facebook said that the feature on facial recognition was meant to address complaints of users. It added that users have been complaining that tagging photos one by one is a tedious task. Working with large photo albums, it is cumbersome to tag the same people over and over again. Authorities clarified that an evaluation will be done as to whether Facebook’s action broke some privacy rules and deserved punishment.

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Social Media Etiquette for Moms

The social media has successfully hooked users of all ages, and new moms are given the rules regarding information sharing when it comes to their children. Babble.com encourages parents to follow some rules of etiquette on the internet. These rules include standards regarding how new mothers should manage the sharing of information about themselves and their children. Generally, moms have the natural tendency to post anything that they consider as their child’s happy moments or milestones.

Moms would unsuspectingly share their child’s photos and activities on the internet without any inkling that what they are doing could affect their privacy. While this could be acceptable to some degree, Babble recommends that parents should not be careless about it. It has laid down some rules for using information that risks some questions on internet etiquette and privacy.

Moms are told not to share details about their baby’s bathroom habits. There might be some peculiar incidents in these stories that moms would find interesting or “funny”. However, no amount of good storytelling can hide the fact that they are posting something ridiculous. A social networking site is not the place to post these stories. Moms need to think before they post.

Another thing that moms should avoid sharing - what they do from sign on to sign off. There are those who post their every action and tend to add a hint of self-righteousness in it. Everyday household activities are normal and should not be “sold” to the public as being unique. Moms should learn how to exude good vibes that could infect other moms who might also be in the same boat.

Child photographs are another concern. Moms are advised to have an archive of the “best of” photos of their children. It is absurd to find 20 photographs, all of which are showing a toddler crying. To every mom, a child’s photo is a work of art and deserves display, but she should learn to limit. She should choose only those really significant photos for her friends to see.

Birthing photographs are considered treasures, especially those of the first born child. However, no matter how beautiful moms think of the event, they should never post those pictures. These revealing photos would not add to man’s knowledge about childbirth. Instead of posting these kinds of pictures, moms should engage in more worthwhile social networking activities. Why should they not post positive comments about other children? They can make other moms happy and secure knowing that their children are also appreciated by others.

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Will the E-Verify System Curb Illegal Immigration?

Another privacy issue has surfaced along with the U.S. government’s initiative to curb illegal immigration and employment. A proposed bill is under fire because it forces employers to have new employees go through the E-Verify system. Expectedly, privacy concerns have been aired by different privacy groups. The ACLU, EFF, and other civil liberties organizations, labor and privacy groups are against the approval of the Legal Workforce Act of 2011.

E-Verify is an employment eligibility verification system that is internet-based. Proponents say that using the system will screen all those who seek employment in the U.S. It will not be difficult for the government to find illegal immigrants. Employers will be assured that they hire only those who are legally qualified to get jobs in the U.S.

Refusal to use E-Verify will mean penalties of up to $25,000 and imprisonment of at least one year for employers. If approved, the law will oblige employers to compare their employees’ records in the DHS and SSA databases with the information that these employees supply upon hiring. Aside from this, the Social Security numbers provided by the new hires will be compared with those on record. In addition, employers will be required to take the fingerprints of employees as a pilot biometric authentication program.

Those who push for privacy rights consider this as a threat to employees’ privacy. They argue that the authentication system would generate a database that holds highly sensitive data. It would be difficult to manage and protect such a huge amount of information. Undoubtedly, this data will be open to abuse and misuse by dishonest individuals or groups. Identity theft is most probable given the size, openness and accessibility of this database. Critics have said that even intelligence and law enforcement agencies might use this database for other purposes.

The civil rights and privacy groups coalition says that the risk to individual privacy is obvious. According to them, the harm that it could cause to people outweighs its benefits. Due to the various criticisms that caught the government’s attention, there is a plan to improve the E-Verify system. It is hoped that the improvements would center on reducing, if not eliminating, the risks to individual privacy.

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Wanted: Eraser Tool for Online Mistakes

More than ever, the internet encompasses the lives of many people every day. Online activities are dominated by shopping and social networking. In this way, people share some of their information with people they do not even know. As users looked back at their cyber “footprints”, they wanted to remove some that they no longer want or need. After a while, they realized that there were some “online mistakes” that they have committed. At this time, they feel the need to correct those mistakes. They want especially to remove the information that should have been kept private.

Yes, many users wished that they would have been more careful when it came to sharing information. They now need an “eraser tool” to delete that unwanted data in cyberspace. If there was a law that would allow them to do so, they would remove data that is no longer wanted or needed.

The “right to be forgotten” is a new issue that demands attention. Some countries are putting their eyes on creating an enforceable law of this kind. One possibility is giving users the right to demand deletion of any information about them online. For example, it would be the right of criminals, after serving their terms, to demand removal of their criminal histories from an internet website.

Experience shows that there are search results that return websites that have incorrect or outdated information about some people. When a relevant law is passed, the concerned “victim” can then demand that such incorrect or outdated data be removed. Obviously, at present there is no such a law that could completely tackle this issue. This means that there would be a piling up and even an epidemic of inaccurate information on the internet over an indefinite period of time. This is a fact and right now, it is becoming a problem.

Online mistakes could be amplified several times in a social networking scenario. There are cases when inaccurate information is copied and posted or used somewhere else. This adds to the complexity of the situation and makes forgetting even more difficult. There are also policy and technical challenges even in a simple case of online mistakes. On the other hand, there are cases when using another person’s information can be helpful. As long as data is not abused, using another’s data could be interpreted as freedom of expression and not a defiance of law of any kind.

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Safe Kids and Their Parents

SafeKids.com is a website where parents can find resources that can calm their fears about internet safety, and to provide advice on how kids can stay safer online. Having been around for many years, SafeKids.com has been building good relationships between parents and children regarding online experiences since its creation. It has a collection of important information that parents need to know about keeping kids safe online.

Technology journalist Larry Magid created and founded SafeKids.com, which is one of the oldest internet safety sites. He has made outstanding works and contributions in internet safety, one of which is the 1994 brochure “Child Safety on the Information Highway”. His articles have helped parents maintain strong bonds with their children while maintaining their internet security.

Online safety of children has been the major concern of SafeKids.com. This problem disturbs more parents than children. Especially in these days of social networking, the site wanted to calm down the fear felt by parents. This is done by providing articles that give good advice. There is a wide variety of topics - safe search, safety tools, safety guides, social networking privacy tools, and more.

The site’s simple layout is attractive to most parents who should not be impressed with elaborate design. The straightforwardness encourages visitors to pay more attention to the content rather than just graphics. Instead of playing around the page, their attention is hooked on the different articles that are posted. Moving through the different information is made easier through the available links. Further, visitors can move from one page to another by the use of the back button on the browser.

Parents can also put a “legal” touch by entering into an agreement with their children. SafeKids.com has a Family contract template that can be downloaded. Their children can fill it out and sign it. Then parents can put this near the computer, making it a good visual reminder to children about their promises about using the internet safely.

Parents and children can easily avoid the dangers on the internet with proper rules for children and guidelines for parents. SafeKids.com has lots of related resources, and all of these come in handy. To establish a good relationship, parents just need to be open with their children about their concern over privacy and safety. Parents and guardians can use the contact information to ask any questions or report any concern. Parents and children alike can feel free to shop for internet safety materials at SafeKids.com.

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Parental Control is Childrens' First Line of Defense

The issue of parents using parental control over their children’s online activity has been around for some time. There seems to be some confusion on the parents’ part about whether or not they should do so. There are those parents who would attempt to monitor their children, but would not continue because they think that they might be intruding on their children’s rights. This results in those children becoming prey to online predators.

Internet surfing by children is not the same as their keeping diaries. A diary is private property, and access to it is restricted to the owner. The internet is a totally different thing. It is accessible to hundreds of millions of people therefore, it is not private. Parents should correct their distorted view of child privacy and provide the first line of defense for their children. Clearly, children are the most vulnerable to abuse on the internet because of their emotional and intellectual immaturity.

There is an estimated 1 million pedophiles that lurk on the internet. They never stop looking for their next victim, and your child could be it. These child molesters and sexual predators are always looking for a child that is not “on guard”. Your son or daughter is not prepared to handle the situation where they might unintentionally find themselves involved with one of these people. Parents must take control to make sure that their children’s online safety is not jeopardized.

The choice whether to tell your child that you watch his or her online activity depends on how close you are to each other. Children who are used to having open communication with you will not mind if you tell them what you are doing. The older ones are more likely to show dislike over the perceived invasion of privacy, and telling them about your monitoring could prove to be a challenge on your relationship.

Children only attain the legal right to privacy when they become 18 years old. Parents, on the other hand, have the legal duty to make certain their children are safe both on and off line. Your children, through your clarification, will recognize that you are not trying to invade their privacy. What you are doing is ensuring their safety.

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