The Wonderful World of Privacy. Post 3. Privacy Beyond BT

My last privacy post related specifically to BT and the issues surrounding BT and privacy. Today I want to focus on some of the other marketing connected areas where privacy issues are being cited.

One important thing to remember is that the Internet was designed as a very open, communications centered network. Ergo, it is inherently insecure. There are always risks of privacy when the system in question was designed to be so open.

The following are some of the major areas where privacy questions have been raised.

E-Commerce privacy: The conduct of e-commerce places PII at some level of risk. Whether through spyware on user PCs, insecure communications on the network, or compromises in the security of e-commerce databases, this area of privacy arguably gets the most consumer focus and attention. Focusing specifically on the aspects of security here that the consumer cannot control, it is important to recognize that the level of security surrounding the respective databases of different e-commerce companies varies widely. Some offer profoundly secure protections, while others offer very little. As a result, there are several major announcements every year of compromised databases that can lead to identity theft.

GPS: Is your location your business and your business alone? The growing number of GPS enabled mobile phones poses the eventuality that location may become a heavily tracked aspect of your life in the near future. Many consumers, however, will take little issue with this. In fact, a number of successful startups are creating services specifically designed to let consumers communicate their locations to friends and other people who may be interested.

Safety of Minors: As individuals under 18 are at special risk given their more limited reasoning skills, there is a great deal of concern about preserving privacy during childhood. COPPA and CARU offer standards designed to mitigate a great deal of this risk. But the rise of social networks has posed new challenges as kids happily advertise their locations, interests, feelings, and purchases for others to see.This is proving to be a very challenging area for the social networks as businesses.

Aggregation of Data into Profiles: Since our economy is fast becoming electronic, and since so much of our personal information is now traveling the Internet in various levels of security, the potential for the development of centralized repositories of most or all of this information is of concern to privacy advocates. Of particular concern is the improper storage and transmission of medical information.

Identity Theft: Related to the first topic above, identity theft is affecting a significant portion of our society. Causes relate to ignorance of safety and security issues as well as improper storage, communication and sale of PII.

Government Security Breaches: While a great deal of attention has been paid to commercial data breaches, government organizations also make errors that result in compromised security.

Government Surveillance: Recent controversies around Internet and telecommunications surveillance have driven home the issues related to poorly written, outmoded, or ignored regulations and laws related to electronic privacy.

Digital TV and DRM Enforcement: Both on and beyond the web, the level of behavioral and interest monitoring is increasing. Digital TV allows cable companies to better understand your specific viewing habits and serve ads accordingly. Additionally, the efforts of the music and other content industries to drive both the government and ISPs to monitor what we view and download also poses the possibility of extensive profiling that disturbs some privacy advocates.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.