Internet Privacy Laws in the United States, Are They Relevant and Are Citizens Safe
Privacy concerns are becoming more of a public interest these days. There are heated debates over the issue like it was never before. For more than twenty years, privacy regulations have protected people. But times have changed, they need to be revised. New developments in information technology have enabled people to be more at home with it. Consequently, some businesses have discovered how they can create profit out of user information.
The expansion of user-friendly online environment has attracted surfers to communicate info more easily. But, this info can also be used by individuals who know how to make money out of it. Monitoring internet actions has enabled some organizations to gain profit, but for the detriment of owners of data.
Existing privacy laws are already outdated. This adds to the intricacy of the issue. These laws and regulations have not grown in concert with information technology. IT has grown in, leaps and bounds, while laws have remained old and out of date. There are numerous loopholes in the protection of users' privacy. These data can be easily seen by almost everyone. While businesses would want to uphold privacy, they are incapacitated to do so by regulations that are inapplicable.
Facebook and Twitter are networking internet sites that rely so much on information sharing. The volume of user data that they hold is their responsibility. As part of privacy agreement, they cannot just divulge any user's information. But the existing laws could not assure this protection. In truth, the government can peek into these data very easily. It is here where the need to uphold national security becomes in conflict with protecting individual privacy.
Different groups have pushed for the revision of these laws and regulations. Giants in the online industry have actually joined forces to call for thorough overhaul of privacy regulations. Even some administration officials also think that the change is inevitable. It ought to be implemented soon. In point of fact, the government has given a hint that 2011 would mark the renaissance of privacy regulations. This time, these would be more appropriate and relevant to the existing circumstances in the online community.
If you aren't sure that our Internet privacy laws protect you, you maybe want to consider using an anonymous proxy surf tool to hide your Internet identity.