Who is on our side?

The media drones on about the battle between internet users and information privacy laws.  While most fight the laws by protesting or voting, Nicholas Merrill is taking a different route.  This internet engineer has plans to develop a non-profit company that provides users access to the internet in a setting controlled by their own privacy settings.  The average internet users are clueless to the technology behind internet security but are now becoming aware of the importance of information protection.  Merrill’s idea is a great and potentially profitable one, but will it be able to stand a chance against the government and its available resources?  As the information protection battle drags on, it is comforting as a regular net user to know action is being taken for my side.

Anonymous goes to China

Most of us view the internet as a source of entertainment, knowledge and communication.  With the explosion of social networking in the recent years, the world has become more connected than ever before.  However, China faces adverse effects as the country and its government butt heads now more than ever.  Various political scandals have been exploited through the internet and have caused outrage among the country.  Previously mentioned activist group Anonymous has now decided to step in and “take down the Great Firewall of China.”  This is not the first time Anonymous has taken action against the Chinese government.  The threat of action could cause the Chinese government to back down or possibly spark an internet war. Yikes!

CISPA: Just another acronym.

Up for vote in the nearing weeks is a new act, similar to those voted down previously.  The Cyber and Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) allows the government to gain access to any private information stored by any corporation using internet means, no warrant necessary.  CISPA would allow anything and everything you do online to be shared and stored by different agencies.  Many are questioning this bill as it is vague and does not clearly distinguish itself from former bills that have been voted down.  Do you think the government is overstepping their boundaries by approaching internet security using constant surveillance?  Although many large corporations are standing behind CISPA, the bill is far too unclear to be voted through.

Who is on the other side of your web cam?

There has been ongoing debate related to privacy and security on the internet as the public becomes more aware of the kind of data being collected about them.  Under British law, government agencies are now allowed to essentially tap into your computer.  Instant messages, internet activity, and skype calls are allowed to be monitored.  The British government defends themselves by pointing out the potential for terrorist activity over the internet and the need to intervene.  While the government agency records frequency, call times and addresses, they do not record the content itself.  Similar laws are presently being enacted here in the U.S.  Should we be angry at the government for attempting to prevent internet terrorism?  I am more than willing to sacrifice the privacy of the meaningless conversations I hold via the internet to the government in order for them to provide security.

Google Wants Government to Regulate Internet

          For over a decade, companies like Google have been pushing for the government to regulate the internet in the name of net neutrality. Net neutrality, simply put, refers to the absence of restrictions or priorities placed on the type of content carried over the internet by the major carriers and ISPs. It states that all content be treated equally and that packets are to be delivered on a first come first serve basis regardless of who sent them or their destination. Google, along with other similar companies, are part of a long going fight over whether the physical intrastructure of the internet will remain a competitive, free market foundation for the broader technology sector and the U.S. economy, or be reduced to a regulative utility or even government owned information network. Google and its allies have argued that a free market, unregulated internet will lead to ISPs blocking websites or disrupting services, wreaking havoc on the internet information community. Google has said that only government intervention can stop this from happening.
           So, should the government regulate the internet so that the major internet service providers cannot interfere with information being sent? Or is Google just scared that these ISPs may limit their power?

Kerpen, Phil. "Google is no Friend of Internet Freedom." www.foxnews.com. Fox News, 01/20/2012. Web. 8 Apr 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/01/20/google-is-no-friend-internet-freedom/.

Web-Tracking Proposal Raises Privacy Concerns

          Since the year 2000, there has been a long standing ban on tracking how people use government internet sites using cookies and similar technologies. In 2009, the Obama administration proposed to scale back this ban, allowing visitors to government websites to be profiled and have their information taken from them. Supporters of this change, giving government websites the right to track users, say that social networking sites often take advantage of the tracking technologies and they have revolutionized the way people and communicate and keep up with one another. One of Obama's aides said that allowing these government websites to use the technologies would greatly increase public involvement and make government more transparent. However, some privacy groups argue that the proposal brings about an unexplained shift in government policy, allowing these government agencies to gather all the personal information on the users of their websites. Vivek Kundra, the government's chief information officer, wrote that the new policy is intended to improve customer service on government agency websites by analyzing how visitors use the site and remembering users individual data and preferences to make the site more compatible to them.

          There has always been use of cookies and other technologies to track individuals on the internet but until now, government websites have been exempt from these technologies. So do we want government websites to enable the use of tracking technologies? Could they be just wanting to gather information on us for some bigger reason that we do not know about? Or could they only want to know our information so that everytime we visit their website they can taylor the content to our liking just to get a vote?

Hsu, Spencer, and Cecilia Kang. "Obama Web-Tracking Proposal Raises Privacy Concerns." Washington Post [Washington D.C.] 11 08 2009, n. pag. Web. 8 Apr. 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081002743.html>.