[bestbits] FW: [Dewayne-Net] Monitoring Your Every Move

[michael gurstein]

The activities of the private sector shouldn't be ignored in any
discussion/policy development concerning privacy/surveillance.

M

-----Original Message-----
From: dewayne-net at warpspeed.com [mailto:dewayne-net at warpspeed.com] On Behalf
Of Dewayne Hendricks
Sent: Thursday, October 10, 2013 1:51 AM
To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Monitoring Your Every Move

October 9, 2013
Monitoring Your Every Move
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
<http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/opinion/monitoring-your-every-move.html>

You may have even less privacy than you thought.

Most Internet users know that Web sites and advertisers monitor what they do
online and use that information to pitch products and services. What's not
as well known is that these companies can track individuals as they move
between devices like personal computers, cellphones and tablets. This type
of "cross-device" tracking raises significant privacy concerns because most
users are simply unaware that it is taking place.

Internet companies capable of such monitoring do it through various means,
including by figuring out if different devices are using the same Internet
connection and are visiting the same Web sites and mobile apps. If, for
instance, you have used your home computer to research a Hawaiian vacation,
travel companies can show you ads for flights to Honolulu on apps you use on
your cellphone.

Internet businesses argue that such targeting benefits everybody:
advertisers get access to customers who are more likely to buy their
products while individuals receive offers for stuff they are interested in.
(The New York Times's mobile apps include software from advertising networks
that gather nonpersonal information about how readers use the newspaper.)

But there's also a big privacy issue. Many Americans worry that the Internet
has already extracted more personal information about them they would like.
Now comes the news that advertisers can follow people from work computer to
tablet computer to cellphone even though those devices are not connected to
one another. New technology also allows advertisers access to mobile phones
without the "cookies" they need to access personal computers. This makes it
harder than ever for users to escape the gaze of private companies.

By connecting information from these devices, database companies that
collect information can know a lot more about individuals than previously
thought possible, including, for instance, their physical location and the
identity of family members, friends and colleagues. The use of this
information to target advertising might amount to a mere annoyance to most
people. But such information could also end up in detailed individual
profiles that could be obtained by government agencies or purchased by
employers or banks to evaluate candidates for jobs or loans.

At some point, the makers of computers, phones and software may devise new
tools that allow people to protect themselves from sophisticated forms of
tracking. But they will always be one step behind firms that are in the
business of collecting information.

The best solution is for lawmakers to pass legislation that sets clear rules
that would regulate and limit how businesses collect personal information,
what they can use it for and how long they keep it. The rules, which could
be enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, should also give consumers an
easy way to review files about themselves or simply choose not to have the
information collected. At the moment, the advantage on the Internet lies
increasingly with the data miners and the advertisers, not the consumer.

Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://dewaynenet.wordpress.com/feed/>