Protecting Online Privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Protecting Online Privacy - Essay Example And they should take care to protect it from spreading discriminately online. Protecting their privacy online will ensure that they are not leaving their personal information open to abuse (Australian Government). In an open environment any one can have a taste of the matter. The people have a general right to be granted access to the personal information that organizations and agencies hold about them (Australian Government). But such persons are less aware of the fact that their information may be used for the various purposes including the resource to earn money by scammers, spammers or phishers etc.. To avoid discrimination people should know their right. They have diversity of sources to know about their right to protect their personal information, which they have supplied to a range of companies for countless reasons. The more a person knows about his/her rights, the easier it will be for him/her to safeguard his/her privacy (Australian Government). But they are less aware that the companies have taken their consent in their agreement section that their information may be used for their business purposes. Most of them are even not aware what they have signed for. Many credit agencies have gathered information from other agency for handsome amount without the consent of the customer and sold them for their commercial use. There are instances where people don't know about their right and importance of their privacy. They commit such a nuisance that they defame their personal image. For example, the persons, specially crazy girls and even curious women who are interested in publishing their personal information including photograph on internet on free hosting websites, are not aware of the fact that their identity is revealed to the world and they may fall a prey to the world of the prohibited by pornographers. Their ignorance can easily give opportunities, putting themselves in various troubles, to them to earn handsome money out of their clandestine materials. Several examples can be sited to show that the delicate information provided on Internet can make such a big harm to the people that they may even take their life as the compensation of the fault. In early September, a web developer took an apparently real advertisement placed online by a woman looking for a sexual liaison and posted it on the Seattle "casual encounters" section of the Craigslist bulletin board, according to press reports. There were 178 responses to the phony sexual solicitation, many of which included compromising photos. The developer then posted all the responses on a public website, including photos, email addresses and other personal information -- where anyone could view them. (Wharton). Another case of taking the advantage of using the personal matter for the use of Internet shows the wild nature of misuse of the information. A young woman in Seoul was on a subway train with her pet dog when the animal relieved itself on the floor. The woman did not clean up the mess, angering other riders, and the woman herself reportedly became surly as tensions escalated. Using a camera phone -- at 99%, South Korea has the highest camera-phone penetration in the