Online privacy through the looking glass

Ever since Mark Zuckerberg said that privacy was no longer a social norm, the online world has been filled with discussion and debate about this most controversial topic. I believe that Zuckerberg’s statement has really forced netizens to take a closer examination on how much information and data is being collected and revealed about them online…with or without their knowledge. From the looks of it, a lot of them are becoming more proactive and vigilant.

 
In fact, Google has received strong criticisms from parents for one of their latest products…Google Buzz. They think that it is a major privacy risk for their kids because it lacks parental safety control features. On top of that, they are now being sued by a Gmail user for breaking company privacy and data protection laws.
 
The complaint from a Rhode Island resident states, "Google, through its Buzz social networking tool, has unlawfully disclosed its customers' private communications and records, including but not limited to, the automatic and unauthorized importing of its customers' private e-mail contacts into the Buzz social network. Buzz has raised privacy concerns including, but not limited to automatic importing of private contacts and showing them to friends and importing without authorization the customers' private photos onto the Buzz social network."
 
Very tough start of the year for Google…but overall a very good step towards re-educating ourselves on how online privacy works. This post will kick off a three-part series on Online Privacy. We will examine three things: 1) What online privacy is 2) How online privacy is becoming more like public privacy and 3) Why it is important to protect it.
 
So what is online privacy?
 
Wikipedia defines Online Privacy as the: “ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the Internet, and to control who can access that information.”
 
Now this makes it very tricky because we all perceive and value privacy very differently. For example, the new generation doesn't mind sharing every detail of their lives online. So familiar online companies increasingly don't bother letting you control privacy options from the start, and make it difficult to detach. Then there are the privacy-concerned folks, mostly older individuals who don't readily see the benefits of connectedness. (Read Geekdad's Is Online Privacy a Generational Issue?)
 
Wherever you are on this spectrum, it is undeniable that the breadth and importance of online privacy has grown rapidly during the past decade. This has coincided with the rise of datavores like the Internet, financial services and advertising industries that have contributed a mind-boggling amount to society over the past decade. Their use of data has literally changed the face of business and has allowed us to improve communication, erase physical barriers and expand our education.
 
We may assume that the same laws or societal rules that protect our privacy in the physical world apply to the digital world as well. But what we easily forget is that the Internet remains largely unregulated and that the policies governing it are underdeveloped. This is why we owe it to ourselves to take online privacy seriously. There may be no physical boundaries, but it doesn't mean that we shoudln't set virtual boundaries that will keep us safe and free. Not everyone is as respectful or as responsible. Privacy is personal and knowing how to navigate through cyberspace, even if that means proceeding at our own risk, is essential to using the Internet. 
 
For the next installment we will examine what Internet activities reveal your personal information and how others get information about your online activities.
 
-Grace is a blogger for The Daily Vine. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.