Search Engines for Citizens Private Data - Research Paper Example

? The Value of Digital Privacy in an Information Technology Age & Introduction Technology has brought many conveniences to society. Unlike years ago, people can now communicate with each other in less than a second. Paper documents have been greatly reduced because everything is stored electronically in databases. As such, access to information is readily available to anyone with a click of a mouse. This ease of acquiring data, however, has come with a price. Hand-in-hand with the applause for the convenience of getting information is the clamor for stricter privacy laws. Netizens, a term coined for active users of the Internet (Netizen), are complaining about how websites make private information such as their names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. available to the public. The issue of privacy over the Internet has become very serious that lawmakers have been forced to create regulations to safeguard users (Lyons, 2012) against websites that provide access to an individual’s private information. Search Engines for Citizens’ Private Data Intelius.com is a search engine that specializes on people searches. On the website, a researcher can choose to look up an individual through several ways. There are links to search via email, social networking sites, property records and the basic people search which yields the person’s relatives, age and the various cities and states in the USA the individual may have resided in. Getting a report would require a fee. Supposedly, the report would contain “some or all” of the data such as the person’s full name, age and date of birth, phone numbers, aliases, relatives, email address(es), property records, marriage & divorce, lawsuits, criminal records, and so on. For people search and background check services, Intelius supposedly provides a researcher his money’s worth because of the accuracy of its reports. (TopTenREVIEWS, 2013) US Search.com is another website which offers people searches. Each search starts with the city, state and first and last names of an individual. Similar to the basic result page of Intelius, the next screen shows a page which has the name, age, relatives and the different cities and states the person has lived in. There are three different reports each more comprehensive than the other. These have corresponding fees. Prices are from $2.45, $19.95 and $39.95. The most expensive report includes a State Criminal Search, Properties, Enhanced Relatives, Associates Plus and Marriages/Divorces. As with Intelius, the number of items listed in each report is not guaranteed. Zaba Search is one of the many people search engines on the Internet. Once the first and last names are entered, the user can search all the 50 states in America or a specific state. The results include the person complete address and phone number, including a marker on Google map for the user’s reference. Zaba also offers reverse phone lookup, background checks and searching via phone numbers. Curiously, when the results appear, an advertisement by US Search shows with the same person’s name, age and the cities and states the person has lived in. Advantages and Disadvantages of Public Access Public access to private information can bring about positive and negative outcomes to the researcher and the topic of the research. Although public access does help researchers find more information for social or educational purposes, these information may not be current. Having a citizen’s private data available on the Internet makes the person an easy victim of identity theft or other related crimes. Nevertheless, it also makes it possible for long-lost friends and family to get in touch with the person. For the person being researched, there are a couple of reasons public access can be bad. One is identity theft which has become a significant offense in the United States with around 10,000 groups involved in the activity. (White, 2012) There are several ways to commit identity theft and all of these require personal information such as a name, Social Security Number, phone number or birthday. Even dead people are not spared in this kind of crime with 2.5 million identities stolen yearly. (White, 2012) Another disadvantage of making private information accessible to the public is that an individual becomes a very easy target for stalkers or any other person the individual is hiding from. An example would be Elliot Fogel, who “Googled” his former classmate Claire Waxman 40,000 times since May 2003. (Telegraph, 2012) Fogel reportedly called Waxman hundreds of times at home and even has her wedding picture set as a screensaver on his computer. For the researcher, a negative aspect of public access is that the information may not be as accurate or some information may not be current. Depending on the type of data the researcher needs, there is also the matter of fees as mentioned earlier. The more data the researcher needs, the more costly a people search report is. Meanwhile, public access can also bring a sense of relief both to the researcher and the topic of the search. Public access may mean reconnecting with former classmates or family members. A surprise call, email or visit may be a welcome surprise. Social networking sites which feature photos also help link one person to another or many others. Public access is also good if the researcher is from the police force or a similar group. With a subpoena or warrants, social networking sites may be asked by authorities to provide them with a user’s private information when they deem necessary. (Kelly, 2012) This can help authorities capture criminals. Protection for Citizens’ Information There are three ways to protect one’s privacy on the Internet. (Microsoft, 2013) First, privacy policies should be read very carefully. Most of the times users are discouraged by the length of the material but the document will give the user an idea of what the website will do with the user’s private information. Second, searches should be made on one’s self. This will help the user “screen” what others could see on the Internet about the user. If there are things the user does not want to be available, the specific site should be contacted so the content can be made unavailable. Lastly, information must be guarded at all times using Internet firewalls, strong passwords and accessing sensitive data only from personal computers or devices. Federal Laws on Private Information The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act is a federal statute creating a national sex offender registry which contains, among others, the offender’s name and address. (Davidson, 2006) I agree with this law because it helps keep children safe. People would not be letting their guard down if a registered sex offender is in the area. Also, I would like to believe this law helps the offender because the person is less likely to commit a crime since everybody, including authorities, already knows his or her information. Effect of Electronic Privacy Laws There are several electronic privacy laws in place such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986 and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. It is in my opinion that these are not very effective because of the continuous advancements in the technological world. For example, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act has not been able to keep up with the new applications available to children on their phones, iPads or computers. (Singer, 2012) Even with the ECPA in place, complaints still arise regarding violations of privacy. Authorities need to remember that the Internet is very fast and website companies are also businesses trying to come up with new ways to acquire customers. Sadly, laws about electronic privacy seem to struggle in keeping up with these developments and thereby put the public at risk. References Davidson, L. (2006, July 28). Bush signs, Hatch praises new Child Protection Act.: Norton tragedy is a reminder of need for law, senator says. Desert News. Retrieved from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/640198190/Bush-signs-Hatch-praises-new-Child-Protection-Act.html Kelly, H. (2012, August 30). Police embrace social media as crime-fighting tool. CNN online. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/30/tech/social-media/fighting-crime-social-media/index.html Longley, R. (2013). About the Freedom of Information Act. Retrieved from http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/rightsandfreedoms/a/About-The-Freedom-Of-Information-Act.htm Lyons, D. (2012, February 23). Obama Pushes for New Internet-Privacy Law to Protect Consumers. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/23/obama-pushes-for-new-internet-privacy-law-to-protect-consumers.html Microsoft. (2013). Protect your privacy on the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/prevent.aspx Netizen. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/netizen Singer, N. (2012, Sept. 27). U.S. Is Tightening Web Privacy Rule to Shield Young. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/technology/ftc-moves-to-tighten-online-privacy-protections-for-children.html Telegraph Media Group Limited. (2012, Jan. 28). Stalker who “Googled” his victim 40,000 times is jailed. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9045510/Stalker-who-Googled-his-victim-40000-times-is-jailed.html TopTenREVIEWS. (2013). Intelius. Retrieved from http://background-check-services-review.toptenreviews.com/intelius-review.html White, M. (2012, Nov. 20). Identity Theft: Study: 10,000 Identity Theft Rings in U.S. Time. Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2012/11/20/study-10000-identity-theft-rings-in-u-s/ Read More