The delicate balance between individual privacy and marketing specifically garnered through information obtained through internet usage is an issue which invokes extreme support from differentiating opinions. On one side of the argument are those individuals who feel that internet use is one of the most protected rights under the US Constitution; similar to the privacy of the US mail or the inalienable right against illegal search and seizure. Capitalist marketing groups and other businesses state that internet usage and information obtained from emails is public information willingly acquiesced to review by the user, which may be gathered, analyzed, and reflected in targeted advertising.
Recent debate over FTC policy shows that a lot of the proposed implementations are not doing their job. The FTC currently attempts to sanction those individual websites, which have privacy policies in place, but fail to enforce them. On the other side of the coin, many companies feel that the best protection comes not from the government, but from the companies who compose internet commerce. Microsoft is one of many online companies who recently implemented the proactive ability for the users to turn off cookies, which in turn prevent advertisers from gathering data about internet usage.
Advertising companies and other companies who benefit from online research and marketing are worried that changes in the mentality of the user and their collective rights will extremely limit the effectiveness of their business model. Like various other sectors of the global economy, proponents of free trade (with limited government intervention) insist that the best public policy is to eliminate government intervention in the industry.
As a proponent of open markets (on most cases) and the limited intrusion of privacy that advertisers collect through internet usage, I feel that this is an issue left alone by the United States and other governments. The new option provided by Microsoft and Mozilla allows the user to proactively turn-off their cookie tracking and this is sufficient protection of privacy.
You make several excellent points in your post. You mention that Microsoft and Mozilla both have new options that allow users to disable their cookie tracking and this is stufficient protection of privacy; but is this really the case? Even by disabling cookies, companies can still observe your online activity through other means. Twitter, Facebook, Groupon, and other forms of social media can still obtain ample information about their users and their respective whereabouts even with disabled cookies. Certainly, too much government intervention and involvement can result in disastrous consequences, but in terms of online research and privacy, I believe that the government's involvement and legislation is critical. By failing to act, the government is leaving consumers vulnerable. Consumers should also take proactive efforts towards reducing their content and information disclosure online; ultimately it is the consumer's responsibility to make the decision about the information they release and the transactions that they conduct online.
ReplyDeleteThere is an interesting perspective in your post. You well described the delicate balance when it comes to online privacy. I think the idea of giving the user the choice of proactively deactivate tracking mechanisms is just part of a solution. If users are not aware of this option, the privacy concern still there. In the other part, users awareness will terrible hurt the way eCommerce is done, and most businesses cannot afford the risk. I don't think the balance has been yet achieved.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely important in my personal opinion for internet users to take full advantage of the personal management cookies and file options that browsers are recently providing. As consumers we must realize that are information is invaluable and that the consequences of not taking precautions can prove to be dire. I believe that it is up to each user to decide how much protection is right for them and even though I believe that stronger and more efficient controls should be put in place by governments I am realistic about the fact that this may not be very feasible. In conclusion, it is up to us to protect ourselves and our families from the potential dangers faced online everyday when it comes to our information.
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