Webling: An Invasion Of Privacy

“A new term, ‘Weblining,’ covers the practice of denying certain opportunities to people due to observations made about their digital selves”(Andrews pp. 326). This new era of technology creates a new risk for internet users as anything they do on the internet now has the possibility of causing them problems in the physical world. People they do business with can now see personal things they do on the internet such as websites they visit, emails they send, things they buy and even if they are currently looking for a new job. Webling is an invasion of privacy. It poses a much greater threat to democracy and personal security than traditional advertising ever did. It heavily stereo types internet users and often discriminates against minorities

If you were to go to the new york times website and browse the most recent edition you would find something vastly different from what you see on the physical form of the newspaper. Even if you have only looked at one or two gossip sites about the kardashians, the new york times will now filter and will only show you pages of trashy news articles about celebrities versus actual news about today's world. The problem is that this creates a less educated populous. If people on the internet are being protected from today's news they now do not have the option of forming an opinion which is necessary in participating in a civic democracy. “Ultimately, democracy only works if we the citizens are capable of thinking beyond our narrow self interest. But to do, so we need a shared view of the world we cohabit.”(Pariser, The Filter Bubble) Americans have the right to be able to view any information regarding today's world, to deny them that opportunity, an opportunity to form an opinion, is wrong and is

Recently the House Intelligence Committee voted to undo rules that prevent internet providers like Comcast and Verizon from selling your information. The Senate approved this just a week later which means President Trump will be able to sign this legislation which will strike a significant blow against online privacy protection. This not only strikes a blow now but also later since it also prevents any other possible legislature from being passed in the future. This is a major problem that many people are fighting to stop but for now there has not been much forward