One thing that many internet users neglect to give due attention to is personal information that they share online. For whatever reasons, it seems that information sharing has become very ordinary and spontaneous. People do not think of any harmful consequence that could come along with such data sharing. Too much personal information have been voluntarily uploaded that privacy laws have to be enhanced. This is because many companies are eyeing on these data to be used for their own profit.
Social networking is one venue where people could openly give out their personal information. Facebook for example has about 500 million users worldwide. This number of users have at least their basic personal information open to practically anyone else online. All these data are in the possession of the networking company. These same data are what the government trying to protect in line with privacy laws.
As mentioned earlier, many internet users have become very careless in giving out information. With technology on the go, the government wants to put additional control over data selling. Many government officials place their support for the proposed enhancement of privacy rights protection.
On the other hand, Facebook also has taken the challenge to reposition its strategies in the US. It has recognized the stand of the government leaning towards a stricter implementation of privacy laws. Because of this, the company has taken a step ahead of the rest of its counterparts like Twitter, Zynga and LinkedIn.
Lobbying has become the most suitable strategy. Facebook has strategized to hire additional employees who are experts at public policies. Undoubtedly, it is up to looking for some compromise between the government’s initiative and the company’s objectives. To recall, government specifically wants to beef-up legislations to protect online users. These include among others users’ identities, personal info, and online habits. In addition, policies will also be enacted regarding the tracking, collection and sale of any of this shared information.
There is an apparent indication that the government would introduce “do not track” legislation. Senator Richard Blumenthal opts for policies that would require sites to obtain specific permission to track and sell data. The same stand is taken by Rep. Edward Markey, but focuses more on protecting online behavior and data collecting and profiling.
The brighter side of the issue is that both Facebook and government have the same outlook when comes to privacy protection. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg agrees that people should be assured of their privacy. Likewise, people have to be convinced that they have full control over the data that they submit. These are the same objectives of the proposed legislation enhancements by the government.
More or less, there is a possibility that new regulatory actions would be implemented soon. This would be good news not only to Facebook but to other companies as well. It is because if ever, these new policies would benefit both the users and companies. On one hand, users could continue to enjoy the benefits of technology. On the other, companies could make use of personal data but still upholding the privacy of millions of their users.
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