White House outlines new policy standards

White House Outlines Privacy Guidelines

• Synopsis: The President has released  new privacy guidelines for companies that would let users have better control over their information on the internet.  While this does not give us total control over the data gathered, it is a step closer to letting users control what is and is not available about them on the web.  The problem faced is that the large corporations will inevitably try to block this from coming to pass, as a lot of their money comes from data mining.  However, the FTC already aggressively pursues companies that violate privacy terms.
• Pros and Cons:
• Pros: by collecting information about the user, companies can tailor online content to the needs and requests of the user, streamlining searches and reducing extraneous results while guiding the consumer to products they want.
• Cons: In order to do the above, corporations have to gather a lot of personal information that the user might not want widely known.  Some companies sell this data to others, resulting in Email spam, annoying targeted advertisements, and easy access to personal information by anyone anywhere.
• S&E:
• Privacy: control of personal information
• Security: setting what you want others to be able to access
• Control: controlling your online persona
• Policies and Standards: government setting privacy standards
• Is this necessary?
• Yes, extremely so.  Right now, companies can steal your private and personal information from anywhere on the Internet and sell it to other companies.  I personally have been spammed by drug companies in Canada because data from a search I did for school led them to believe I needed their products.  It isn't a matter of personal responsibility; you do not have to willingly or even accidentally give them access, they just have it by tracking everything you do at all times.  There is a point at which the government has to step in and tell them to stop, because it is getting worse and they won't on their own.
• Best solution for all involved:
• Honestly, I think data mining needs to stop.  At the very least, you should be able to say "I don't want what I do to be tracked" and have the companies honor that.  If you don't mind giving up your personal information in exchange for an admittedly more efficient and custom-designed online experience, that is your right, but those who do not should have that choice, and right now they do not.  Most people would probably accept that compromise anyway, so the corporations do not lose all that much.