Search engines have become the go to place when it comes to looking up information. No matter if one prefers Google, Bing, Yahoo, or anything else, search engines are the way to go for finding any and everything. Even though there are many search engines out there, Google still remains at the number one spot. We as a society Google everything; recipes, directions, things pertaining to out personally lives, everything. A lot of our personal information is out there on the web because of the search engines, social media websites, and other websites we use. Google takes our personal information which is out floating around somewhere in cyberspace and uses it in the results it gives use. While Google believe this is a good approach, it isn’t. Tailoring search results is a bad idea because the information used to do the tailoring and how the information is obtained may compromise the privacy of internet users.
Google draws information from social network accounts, the websites we do online shopping, and from many other sources. Even though search engines urge that whatever information we enter about ourselves stays with the search engine, this day in age it is very easy for an individual to gain access to another person’s information. Sometimes “it is not clear that most people have voluntarily consented to having information about them placed in databases or in online forums that are accessible to search engines” (Tavani 2014). We become ““targets,” of queries by search engine users” (Tavani 2014). Other search engine users can easily find information about another individual which can lead to issues like cyberbullying, cyber stalking, and identity theft because one’s social security is available to users. A lot of people do online...
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...tion about users to tailor search results. Sometimes this is information about users that they don’t want to be known and information that they didn’t voluntarily put up. That’s a clear violation of internet user’s privacy. This information that Google is saving to its database can easily be found by those who have a malicious intent which is a huge red flag. And Google reading Gmail users emails for tailoring search results is the biggest violation of internet user’s privacy. Many internet users aren’t aware that their privacy is at risk. Google has only told users that they tailor search results through information found on social media, the websites we do our shopping on, and other sources. Because Google has failed to tell people the consequences associated with tailoring search results and they are not providing the best user experience which they lay claim to.
Lori Andrews, the author of “I Know Who You are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy” is a law professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology and an advocate for online privacy. This literary work goes in depth about the need for a Social Network Constitution to help law abiding private users like you and I actually have the privacy and security we think we already have in the vast, scary, and ultra-complex cyber world. Ms. Andrews throughout her book provides thorough evidence and information about people being fired, data collectors mining through user’s data, and other horrific stories of people being abused because of their “supposed” online activities. Her work and career has been so thorough that she is a common guest on astute shows such as 60 Minutes, and Oprah. In this response, I will elaborate more on her research and her particular findings; in addition, I will provide some examples of why I also believe there must be a Social Network Constitution as a result of the of the horrific and unnecessary accounts given by the witnesses who bravely provided this information for her and her research team. Privacy is an intrinsic part of the makeup of our proud Nation, and we as law abiding citizens must do all we can to preserve this freedom and fight even harder, because right now, Social Networks and advertising companies are stripping each computer user of this sacred privilege.
In the Engineering and Technology Journal, two engineers, Gareth Mitchell and Guy Clapperton, gave their thoughts on both sides of the privacy issue. Is gathering information violating personal privacy? They made their arguments using currency as a metaphor for personal information and online services a product. Mitchell argues the case that giving out personal information is “too high a price to pay” (Mitchell, 2013, p. 26). He says that despite the option to opt out of cookies and certain information, many sites are more covert and make their opt out option less accessible than a pop up asking to opt out. The site makes it hard for the Internet user to say no to being tracked. Mitchell warns the reader to take more consideration into what information they are giving away and that “privacy is not to be taken for granted” (Mitchell, 2013, p. 26). Getting information from the Internet would mean tra...
In “Google never forgets: a caution tale,” Max Fawcett (2006) has cautioned readers to be careful of what you publish on the Internet. In the first part of this essay, he mentioned about the internet makes the digital equivalent of a dishonest diary to record your life knowledge, your opinions, and your shameful stories. It is catastrophic when you can not control over the biography’s content. Also, Google can keep everything that you posted many years ago, and they are coming behind of you same as a shadow. In the second part, he tried to explain to us that some of the information in the Internet are fake, unclear and outdated. The author used from Napa Valley as an example that “superior code is also ruthlessly efficient at finding every reference, however obscure, tangential or dated it might be, when an individual’s name is searched.” The author also stated that he made a website in 1998 and after a while and specifically in 2004 he came to search for himself and he discovered that Google still has this information kept in its memory. He also tried to clarify that Google can be a reason for an employee’s termination or job refusing when his/her boss or interviewer search about their background and find some negative feedbacks on their weblog.
When google gives your information to advertising companies so they can target your interests by using keywords found in you emails, that is not ok. With all the advances in technology, you won't make it far in the world without relying on technology. The increase in efficiency is so much greater using modern technology like the phone and laptop, even using online services like google docs, that if you are still using a pen and paper you are less valuable to your boss and the loss of privacy is a small price you will have to pay to be
If a random person came over to you on the street, would you give him your personal information? Would you allow him to follow and record your activities? Most certainly not. Although this answer may be obvious in the physical world, the general populations’ behavior on the Internet is strikingly different. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google retain vast amounts of personal information of their users. Although this practice benefits the user as well, unrestricted profiling can be quite unnerving. Since regulation from the government may impede Internet use, and unless the threat to internet users privacy are shown to exceed the benefits, the government will not regulate the internet, rather we should educate the public how to be more responsible themselves.
“Human beings are not meant to lose their anonymity and privacy,” Sarah Chalke. When using the web, web users’ information tend to be easily accessible to government officials or hackers. In Nicholas Carr’s “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty,” Jim Harpers’ “Web Users Get As Much As They Give,” and Lori Andrews “Facebook is Using You” the topic of internet tracking stirred up many mixed views; however, some form of compromise can be reached on this issue, laws that enforces companies to inform the public on what personal information is being taken, creating advisements on social media about how web users can be more cautious to what kind of information they give out online, enabling your privacy settings and programs, eliminating weblining,
Did you know that almost everything you do on the internet is being tracked and recorded in some way? In the Article, George Orwell… Meet Mark Zuckerberg, by Lori Andrews, Andrews talks about how behavioral advertising, which is the tracking of consumer’s online activities in order to bring custom-made advertisements, is a topic that is concealed to many people and can cause damage. Search engines like Google store the searches you have made and in 2006 there were search logs released which had personal information that people were judged by (Andrews 716-717). Data aggregation is the main way Facebook makes its money. Andrews believes that it’s an invasion of privacy and is not known well enough by the public. This article is aimed at young and new internet users that are ignorant of the possible dangers on the web. Lori Andrews is successful at informing novice users about the dangers of behavioral
To begin with, various websites are violating our privacy by selling our data to third party companies. Today accumulation of personal information is escalating using technology tools all over the world without permission of an individual. Precisely, social networking sites such as Facebook collects information actively while websites such as Google passively. Facebook allows strangers to view anyone’s profile and systematically eliminates privacy for those who choos...
The word “privacy” has a different meaning in our society than it did in previous times. You can put on Privacy settings on Facebook, twitter, or any social media sights, however, nothing is truly personal and without others being able to view your information. You can get to know a person’s personal life simply by typing in their name in google. In the chronicle review, “Why Privacy Matters Even if You Have ‘Nothing to Hide,'" published on May 15th 2011, Professor Daniel J. Solove argues that the issue of privacy affects more than just individuals hiding a wrong. The nothing-to-hide argument pervades discussions about privacy. Solove starts talking about this argument right away in the article and discusses how the nothing-to-hide
In Lecture 26 of INFO 3200’s Spring 2014 offering, the instructor talks about the concept of privacy in new media and society. This is a popular topic of conversation in the public sphere. In a world in which the easiest way to keep track of someone is to do so online, it is essential that we know and control what information others get access to.
Internet privacy has been a major issue for its users in the last decade. It is bigger than ever before, as more people join social media cites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These companies, keeping track of our personal data, have a responsibility to make sure our information remains private. Precautions Internet users take to protect their information from being used wrongfully, the government’s connection to this issue, and how the future generation responds to these practices. Consumers’ privacy refers to ability to control when, how, and to what extent the personal information is to be transmitted to others.
Buncombe, Andrew. “Google resists demand to hand over search records.” 15 March 2006. The Independent.
User Privacy is a sensitive topic at the moment. It is one of the most important factors a person should consider before they give their information away over the internet. Every click or selection you make online is being stored and permanently kept on record that includes anything you may have Googled, investigated or researched. Some people believe that user privacy is dead (Rambam 2011). More and more we are being encouraged to give away more information about ourselves online, and the greatest intrusion into our online activities comes from social networking sites. The lack of user privacy on social networking sites has led to dramatic changes in people’s lives such as targeting by the media and marketing researchers, the buying and selling of user information and other unethical forms of privacy invasion. Online activity is increasingly being used as e...
The growing popularity of information technologies has significantly altered our world, and in particular, the way people interact. Social networking websites are becoming one of the primary forms of communication used by people of all ages and backgrounds. No doubt, we have seen numerous benefits from the impact of social media communication: We can easily meet and stay in touch with people, promote ourselves, and readily find information. However, these changes prompt us to consider how our moral and political values can be threatened. One common fear among users is that their privacy will be violated on the web. In her book, Privacy in Context, Helen Nissenbaum suggests a framework for understanding privacy concerns online. She focuses particularly on monitoring and tracking, and how four “pivotal transformations” caused by technology can endanger the privacy of our personal information. One website that may pose such a threat is Facebook.
The internet, provided by many devices nowadays “provides everybody with identical technical capacities… publishing his or her personal views on a worldwide scale - and all of this at a minimum cost and effort, without any spatial restrictions” (Geser 9). “Until they became conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious” (Orwell), the internet is easily accessed by many people worldwide and can be easily hacked to find out important private information about anyone. Social networks especially, whose privacy systems have failed to protect their users from their ac...