Some people don't agree with us about the individual's right to privacy in
cyberspace. See the testimony of
Solveig Singleton of the Cato Institute, presented to the U.S. House of Representatives
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection, for example.
Singleton asserts that e-commerce should not be restricted by privacy controls that would halt the "free flow of information." While this flow of information is helpful for businesses-if they know what kind of purchases you've made lately, they can better target you for future purchases-it does not really help you in any way. Basically, it means that the ads you see and the unwanted e-mail you receive will be specially suited to your "unique needs" as a consumer. But do you really want these companies to know your e-mail address, your home address, your phone number, your history with e-shopping, and/or any of the other data they might have compiled?
A problem with the "free flow of information" argument is that the individual has the right to present him- or herself however seems most appropriate given the situation and audience. It's likely that the "you" who talks to your mother isn't exactly the same "you" who talks to strangers in chat rooms, but these different "you"s are just parts of a larger, more complex person. The information collected by various web sites, the information purchased by companies interested in adding you to their list of customers, doesn't accurately present these complexities of character-it reduces you to a one-dimensional representation of yourself taken solely from a purchase at amazon.com or from a collection of ID numbers.
What kind of information can web sites gather about you? It's possible to analyze your Internet connection--for example, an analysis of my Internet connection would discover that I'm connected from a specific dormitory at Swarthmore College and that JAVA is enabled and working on my computer, among other things. Check out CDT's Demo and Anonymizer's Demo, for more information.
Banner ad networks leave "cookies" on users' hard drives that create "user profiles." These profiles include IP address, web pages visited (along with the date and time at which they were viewed), and a user name (if you've visited a site that requires registration). This user profile is then linked to other databases that connect your web-viewing information with other personal data-- for example, a list of magazines to which you subscribe and your employment history.
Information can also be gathered from other sources. Your Internet service provider, your web browser, and perhaps even your state (which has access to your driver's license number and photograph) can sell the information they've collected about you. For more about these issues, along with demonstrations of Internet connection analysis and banner ad networks, visit Privacy.net.But there is a greater problem caused by the invasions of privacy that comprise the freely-flowing stream of information that travels between businesses or other third parties. The argument strips the Internet down to a mostly commercial level, which is not what makes it such an exciting development-sure, it's nice to be able to shop at home, but more importantly, the Internet provides a much-needed forum for the exchange of ideas. It should be a safe (and technologically secure) space for this kind of exchange, although if such a lack of privacy continues or worsens, it seems probable that many users will grow too exasperated or too frightened to continue to participate. And then the enormous potential of the Internet can never be fully realized.