StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age" discusses the use of the Internet that is proliferating, but how secure and private is the information transmitted over it. The application of specific parameters to ensure this privacy is a more thorny issue…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.1% of users find it useful
Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age"

? Not only have there been occasions when hackers have tapped into confidential data but the privacy of e-mail communications has also been compromised in recent years.

This action generated criticism all over the world but clearly established the criterion that it is not acceptable for a socially responsible provider of Internet services to fail to demonstrate due respect for the privacy and confidentiality of user information.

In the case of Yahoo, for example, the Company was faced with the choice to reveal the information from Shi Tao’s account or cease doing business in China altogether, for failure to comply with that country’s legal requirements (Mackinnon, 2008, p 51). Yahoo justified its actions by contending that Shi Tao, by way of a terms-of-service agreement had promised not to engage in activity that could be termed subversive and agreed to the disclosure of his account information if required by law. The question of whether or not Shi Tao’s activities could be termed subversive is debatable, but it does highlight the conflict between ensuring user privacy as opposed to establishing limits to the content and access of information that is transmitted over the Net.

            As pointed out by Mackinnon, the business success of IT companies is determined by the extent of user trust. (Mackinnon, 2008:55). But user privacy may be under threat in countries such as China where legal and governmental pressures may rise in contradiction to the universal rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Unless industry-wide standards are established and Internet Service Providers recognize that they have a social responsibility to ensure privacy and freedom of expression of its users, the threats to the privacy of information transmitted over the Net will continue to exist.

            The Global Online Freedom Act passed in February 2008, provides four options for ISPs to deal with user information. Firstly, ISP’s can choose to comply with a Government’s requests for information only in those cases where truly criminal elements may be involved (b) refrain from permitting confidential information to be routed into PRC jurisdictions (c) retain minimal amounts of personal data about consumers for minimum periods of time and (d) provide information to users in PRC territories about where their data is being stored. (Mackinnon, 2008:53). While these may represent a step forward, they also have some unpleasant connotations, such as categorizing countries into good and bad ones, whereas some governmental pressure may exist in all nations.

The activity of hackers also poses a threat to the confidentiality of information transmitted over the Internet, especially confidential financial information. Computer experts could hack into a power grid by gaining access to the power systems and shut down entire systems very simply (Greene, in Messmer, 2008), thereby providing more potential for terrorist activities that could cripple a nation in many ways.

            Yet another conflict that arises is the difficulty in achieving a balance between the protection of user privacy and content, while at the same time making information universally available on the Net (Gautschi, 2008:12). The implementation of too-rigid standards of access would result in most consumers missing out on a range of online content, especially creative content, and general information. Lessig (2003) proposes the formulation of a Creative Commons, whereby the creators of creative content can voluntarily provide access to their material based on their own specifications, for example through the imposition of regulating controls on Adobe Reader ebook formats, so that others are allowed selective access based on the copyright holder’s specifications.

            The European Commission has sought to improve and widen access for consumers to online creative content such as music, games, and movies, by spelling out the desirable objectives to be achieved in a report titled “Communication on creative content Online in the single market”. These objectives are (a) the widespread availability of online content and the creation of a single EU market for online content through “multi-territory licensing, interoperability and transparency of digital rights management, and legal offers and privacy.”(Gautschi, 2008:12). The Report highlights the potential inherent in a unified online market for creative content and the need for cooperation between service providers, creators of creative content, and consumers.

            In safeguarding confidential information on the Internet and ensuring that access to information is only provided to authorized users, the “end to end trust” system has been developed by Microsoft, which purports to validate identity claims in the provision of access to information.           This system operates through the use of a trusted stack of devices, a trusted operating system, people, applications, and data, together with an audit trail that can effectively track the source from which access is being sought. (Messmer, 2008:16). It may thus be noted that while there are several measures being mooted to protect the privacy and security of confidential information being transmitted over the Net, addressing the balance between providing access to consumers to online content and regulating the privacy of the users is not an easy task for which easy solutions exist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Information rights: Privacy and freedom in the Internet Age: specific Essay, n.d.)
Information rights: Privacy and freedom in the Internet Age: specific Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1715218-information-rights-privacy-and-freedom-in-the-internet-age-specific-focus-on-the-european-directive-on-data-protection-or-on-the-internet-challenges-to-privac
(Information Rights: Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age: Specific Essay)
Information Rights: Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age: Specific Essay. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1715218-information-rights-privacy-and-freedom-in-the-internet-age-specific-focus-on-the-european-directive-on-data-protection-or-on-the-internet-challenges-to-privac.
“Information Rights: Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age: Specific Essay”. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1715218-information-rights-privacy-and-freedom-in-the-internet-age-specific-focus-on-the-european-directive-on-data-protection-or-on-the-internet-challenges-to-privac.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Privacy and Freedom in the Internet Age

Tort Law Peculiarities

Right to privacy and freedom of expression Rights to privacy and freedom of expression: the conflicts arising from rights to privacy and freedom of expression in relation to individuals' privacy (Mosley v News group Newspaper Ltd (2008) EMLR20).... What constitutes individual's right to privacy and when invasion occurs.... Protecting privacy in the modern age Individual privacy in the modern age: challenges of protecting privacy....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Ethics in an Information Society

This essay "Ethics in an Information Society" discusses the basics and importance of ethics in the information society.... The basic aim of this research is to proficiently analyze the basic ethical aspects such as responsibility, accountability, and liability.... nbsp;… These days we proficiently describe our society as an information society due to the fundamental function performed by information in various services (company and goods services, interactions, economics and indemnity organizations), civil areas (edification, general management, health units), and logical indefinable resources....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Privacy and the Right to Freedom of Information

According to research findings of the paper “privacy and the Right to Freedom of Information”, the prevalent spirit in the American constitutional and legal framework towards balancing between privacy and the need to know is surely in the right direction.... hellip; Many a time one comes across instances when the constraints of privacy are breached by requirements of free expression.... Yet, again, the notion of regarding the privacy of the individuals, groups, and organizations to be protected and sanctimonious also sounds to be a valid and just proposal....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age

The paper “The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology age” will discuss computer hacking, which has been rampantly used to access sensitive individual information.... The companies, through their websites, collect information ranging from names, physical address, e-mail address, age, password and other information necessary to conduct business with these companies.... Different cabling companies have different terms of use in regard to privacy....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Individual's Personal Privacy

Ethical considerations include privacy, copyright, equity and access and freedom of information do (Anon.... However, the advent of internet has rapidly accelerated the scale and the rate of violation.... Social issues may include the cost incurred by the society for switching ways to computer-based systems, increased internet associate crimes and the division that may arise in the society on the basis of the “information poor” and the “information rich”....
8 Pages (2000 words) Literature review

Search Engines for Citizens Private Data

Netizens, a term coined for active users of the internet (Netizen), are complaining about how websites make private information such as their names, phone numbers, addresses, etc.... The issue of privacy over the internet has become very serious that lawmakers have been forced to create regulations to safeguard users (Lyons, 2012) against websites that provide access to an individual's private information.... Zaba Search is one of the many people search engines on the internet....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age

The demerits are that an e-governance system has to watch over the limitless number of people accessing the internet day to day.... om is similar to the phonebook which contains an online directory that can be accessed by everyone who has their computers connected to the internet.... The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology age Name of Author Author's Affiliation Author Note Author's note with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact 1....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Balance in the Administration of Justice Security

In the piece, Communications Privacy in the Digital age (1997), a number of legal issues confronted by people, in general, are laid out.... Most of the time also, the parties concerned contest the method of obtaining data quite too late and they barely survive to win in the proceedings ("Communications Privacy in the Digital age", 1997).... In 1996 alone, there were about 839 orders given out, and the statistics increase by twenty percent every year since then ("Communications Privacy in the Digital age", 1997)....
8 Pages (2000 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us