Ever since internet advanced, the cost of storing digital and electronic data has decreased significantly. This makes storing consumer private information much easier and poses problems of governmental abuse and invasion of privacy. The law that protects against governmental intrusion on internet users’ privacy, known as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), was enacted in 1986. This law has imposed restrictions on governmental activities from wiretaps to data transmissions and phone calls. The ECPA also regulates privacy on stored electronic data; however, the Patriot Act has significantly reduced those limits on access by law enforcement.
In face of this, corporations including Microsoft, Google, and Intel have formed a coalition called Digital Due Process (here is their official website), pushing for stronger legal restrictions on government’s ability to access electronic communications including online database and the protection of private data of internet users.
Most people, when come to privacy issues, focus on the government and the “Big Brother” phenomenon. However, I believe the threat to online privacy does not come solely from potential governmental abuse. The commercial sector may also intrude upon users/online consumers’ private data by sharing that information with other entities in the corporate world. For example, sites that provide online shopping often track users’ cookies and may share their shoppers’ buying habits with companies that have contractual relationships with them (John Schwartz, New York Times).
To read the original article from Wall Street Journal, please click here.
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