The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age

 
The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age


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Abstract
	Technological advancement coupled with internet accessibility has played a pivotal role in expansion and development of online world. The number of online users has increased tremendously following the introduction of e-commerce, e-banking and other online services. Privacy of private data is an impending issue especially with the high rate at which technology is changing. Firstly, the paper evaluates Intelius.com, Acxiom.com and facebook.com Technologies, secondly, advantages and disadvantages of accessing private information on researchers and investigated, thirdly, measures of privacy enhancement, fourthly, provisions of Privacy Amendment Act of 1974 and Amendment 2004 and finally, exercises of electronic communication Privacy Act of 1968; under electronic privacy laws.
Introduction
	We live in a modern world which is different from the one man lived a few decades ago. This variance is attributed to widespread application of information technology, internet accessibility and the emergence of the computer era. Technology has transformed peoples’ way of life socially, political and economically thus enhancing the living standards. It has also changed the business world especially with the introduction of e-commerce, e-banking and other online services (Branscomb, 2000). In the last few years, online and internet world has developed and expanded at an alarming rate; an idea that attracts interest from the public in addressing privacy of private data. Online users use the internet to access various online services and store private information. However, it has been established that private information can be accessed, processed and retrieved by the public without the owner’s consent. This aspect questions the credibility of the state and online service providers in ensuring that there is privacy on private information. However, the question that needs to be addressed is what technologies are used to access private data online by the third party.
The following are some of the technologies employed in accessing, processing and retrieving private data in the internet.
Intelius.com
	It is one of the technologies and search engine on the internet that provides information about friends, relatives, classmate and any other person living in United States. Most of the search engines commonly used by online users are affiliated to Intelius.com. Date check is one of the internet search engines that captures and stores user’s private information such as date of birth, mobile number, address and any other relevant information. Date Check operates as hidden program in the internet and targets any person using the internet. Intelius.com provides information to both the public and business organizations and in most cases, data related to theft identity protection and background checks files. It obtains its revenue by selling private information to individuals, business organizations and government agencies. Using Intelius.com one can search personal information and other peoples’ information through the use of Social security number SSN and the phone number.
Acxiom.com
	It is regarded the leading search engine in the internet as it powers Google.com, Yahoo.com and Lycos. Com. These are some of the commonly used search engine in the internet globally. Acxiom.com is information providing corporation that sells personal information to the public and government agencies. The World Bank report (2007) indicated that Acxiom.com collected more than $1.5 billion through selling personal information (Newman, 2008). This was 25% increase of the revenue collected in 2009. There are two different database accounts in Acixiom.com namely; one that provide information to businesses and law enforcing agencies and the other one to the public through affiliate search engines. Sensitive and confidential information related to finance and security numbers are contained in business and law enforcement database while personal information is stored in the public database. However, the online user can remove personal information stored in the public database but not in the business and law enforcement database.
Facebook.com
	Facebook is one of the social networking sites commonly used today. Statistics indicate six million people worldwide have a facebook account. Facebook account holders are allowed to purchase applications online such as games, puzzles, music and enjoy file sharing services. Through such activities, personal information is captured and stored in facebook database before being sold to the public and other organizations. However, personal information exists online even if one has unsubscribed from a facebook account; this is, unlike the other social networking sites.
Advantages and disadvantages of accessing private data
A.	Advantages to the researchers