Data Privacy Day 2012

Lately, it seems that barely a day goes by when we don’t learn about a major Internet presence taking steps to further erode users’ privacy. The companies with access to our data are tracking us in ways that make Big Brother look like a sweet little baby sister.
Typically when we hear an outcry about privacy violations, these perceived violations involve some apparently omnipotent corporation recording the websites we visit, the applications we download, the social networks we join, the mobile phones we carry, the text messages we send and receive, the places we go, the people we’re with, the things we like and dislike, and so on.
How do they do this? By offering us free stuff to consume online and infrastructure for the online communities that tie us together. We gobble up their technologies, download their programs, use their services, and mindlessly click “I Agree” to terms and conditions we haven’t bothered to read.
What’s the point of all this? Sales, marketers, advertisers, other businesses benefit from knowing every last detail about you—the “33 bits of information” necessary to pin down your identity—in order to deliver precisely targeted advertisements to your digital device of choice, whether that’s a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Should we care? What is the potential danger? “Back in the day,” examples might include telemarketers abusing your phone number by calling incessantly, or (continue reading...)