Do Not Track

Marc Davis

February 22, 2013 

https://www.digitalethics.org/essays/do-not-track

"Tracing Your Steps"

First Impression:

This one gives me an impression of paranoia, i.e. the fact that everyone in the Internet is being watched perhaps by anyone; could be the government, advertisers, companies, or hackers. Honestly though, this makes me somewhat similar to Mad-Eye Moody in the Harry Potter books: constant vigilance is needed.

Quote: 

"Whatever we seek, buy, sell or click online is diligently tracked and used to accumulate huge databases reflecting our preferences, pastimes and proclivities for everything from books to clothing, to our general spending levels and specific buying habits."

Reflection Proper:

The entire article makes me somewhat uncomfortable, for it describes the certain possibility of anyone could be watching our every move in the Internet, and putting down everything we do in huge databases of some sort, i.e. from we look, buy, sell or click online, those reflect our certain preferences, favorites, and pastimes for everything from things such as books and clothes to how much we spend and buy, or heck, even random browsing is even tracked just in order for anyone to learn about what sites we visit, how much time spent online, and every ounce of information one can think of. Nevertheless, this sort of thing reflects privacy invasion, and thus, I agree with the article on this one: the world should enforce a "Do Not Track" rule for everyone, in order to stop this unethical and inconsiderate breach of private information, not to mention to stop the constant and always unpleasant advertising bombardment ---pop-up ads in the Net, spam ads in the mail and ads in YouTube where one can't skip so easily. Also, I do like the idea of the "privacy bill of rights" that was created during the Obama administration on February 2012, which as stated under the proposed bill, according to the essay article: "enforceable codes of conduct would be enacted into law, and consumers would be allowed to access their personal data, make corrections, and be assured that their data would be secure", and personally, this idea should be enacted world-wide, even if people say it's not easy to implement, but life, as we always know, ain't easy. Based from this whole thing though, I would say that people should be really careful of what they are doing on the Net nowadays and forever, and also, hopefully there will no breaches of private information or tracking activity in the future.

5 Things Learned From Article: 

1. I learned that advertisers could be watching everything we do on the Net.

2. I learned there are still no "Do Not Track" laws or registries implemented.

3. I learned about that advertising in the form of pop-ads, direct mail ads, and short video clips are also involved with the tracking issue as well.

4. I learned that in February 2012, during the Obama administration, there was a "privacy bills of rights".

5. I learned that people, especially consumers, have the decision whether to keep their Internet activity private from now on or to be exposed and thus allowing advertisers to track their every move.

5 Integrative Questions:

1. What's your idea on protecting consumer privacy?

2. How do you feel about the everyday advertising you see when you are surfing the Net?

3. Do advertisers know that tracking their consumers' Net activity is somewhat close to privacy invasion?

4. What's your opinion about the "privacy bill of rights"?

5. Why is tracking one's Net activity even done in the first place?