Should individuals be allowed privacy when using the internet?
written by Jesse Johnson
Privacy is a term that we have come to understand based on the culture in which we are raised. According to Merriam-Webster the definition of privacy is “the quality or state of being apart from company or observation” ("Merriam-webster.com"). Utilizing privacy within technology is a relatively modern concept Prior to the rise of democracy privacy merely denoted a man's right to be left alone, free from physical harm. The internet, also known to all as the World Wide Web, is a gateway to a vast collection of resources or public and private information. Whether, it’s for educational or recreational use the average American now utilizes the internet just as much or more than their television set. The question is, Should browsing the web be regulated by each country that provides or is it infringing on internet users privacy?
Google CEO and Chairman Eric Schmidt once said, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it (online) in the first place.” (Hash) Most of us have brought into our lives Facebook , Twitter, MySpace, Flickr and LinkedIn as an easy means of keeping in touch with friends and family and of making business contacts and finding others with shared interests. What we fail to cogitate on is how our perception of making our private lives public reverses those hard-won rights to decide what to make public and what to keep private, as the more we happily put into full public view the less we innately reserve the right to keep private. Undoubtedly, nobody would dispute the fact that the internet have been anything but a revolutionary invention that brings knowledge and connectivity, which spans across state lines and cultural boundaries. Programs such as Skype lets any person where in the world communicate. Activism and the use the internet have revolutionary ground breaking in this early part of the 21st century....