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Essay on Internet Privacy

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Internet Privacy

It has become a sad and upsetting fact that in today’s society the truth is that the right to one’s privacy in the I.T (information technological) world has become, simply a joke. In an electronic media article “No place to hide”, written by James Norman, two interesting and debatable questions were raised: ‘Are we witnessing the erosion of the demarcation of public and private spaces brought on by the networked economy and new technology?’ Also, ‘What roles do government, industry and citizens have in regard to censorship and privacy?’ These statements ultimately end with the fact that it is impossible for Net users to expect privacy online, because online privacy doesn’t exist. However, one must ask, ‘What will be …show more content…

Another interesting comment made by Norman on this occasion was ‘We should not underestimate the impact that internet technology, with it’s various data-gathering tools and techniques, has had in terms of the magnitude of certain privacy concerns’, once again reinforcing the seriousness of the matter.

‘Are we witnessing the erosion of the demarcation of public and private spaces brought on by the networked economy and new technology?’ Of course we are, yet we stand back and watch it fall apart. An example of this is in that of the case of Alexander Lunney. Alexander was subject to false accusations at the age of fifteen, of “transmitting obscene, abusive, threatening and sexually explicit material.” It was however revealed that Lunney was not even a member of the accusing company, and that an imposter had posted the material in his name. A step further than just anticipating the erosion on a worldwide basis is to begin NOW to re-form the barriers between the public and private sectors. The safety of individuals must be assured. It is true that there are numerous privacy acts and laws that exist to prevent the threat of privacy invasion on the Net, though they aren’t enough and they’re not working. So it would be fair in saying that at present, not enough is being done to protect personal privacy on the Net. To even start to think about improving privacy, a realistic approach must be taken. Protective action must start with the ISP, where it should there

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