A central concern is that, as the number of users increase online so does the potential threat of invasion of privacy in many insidious forms. This can lead to serious ethical infringements of privacy, such as fraud and identity theft. As Miyazaki, and Fernandez ( 2001) emphasize;
This rapid growth (of the Internet) has been accompanied, however, by concerns regarding the collection and dissemination of consumer information by marketers who participate in online retailing. These concerns pertain to the privacy and security of accumulateaa with respect to these issues
(Miyazaki, and Fernandez 27)
3. Privacy and the Online Context
Data privacy is defined as follows: "Data privacy refers to the evolving relationship between technology and the legal right to, or public expectation of privacy in the collection and sharing of data about one's self ." (Hamdam et al. 2059) Privacy concern refers to the "expectation of privacy," whether this is legal or ethical that the individual or company requires when data is shared or collected. This can also refer to the issue of how the data is collected, who has access to it and whether the individual or group has legal ownership of that data.
Therefore, from the above it is clear that privacy is breached or intruded upon if information or data is collected or accessed in way that transgresses the privacy rights of the individual. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that, "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks." (the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) What this means in terms of the Internet and contemporary communications is that the right to privacy refers to having the ability to control what information is revealed about oneself online and being able to determine who can access and make use of this information. It therefore follows that the online world of communication and open networking presents a particular threat to the privacy of the individual and the company, in that there are many ways of gaining access to private information without the consent of the individual or the company or organization.
Another side to this issue is the aforementioned reference to the possibility of the Internet being used by government and other authorities to gain access and to use private information for various unsanctioned purposes. There are a number of commentators who are of the opinion that the access to information in the digital age will allow for the surveillance of citizens by government and corporations -- which will amount to a radical infringement of privacy.
4. Implications: Types of Privacy Threats
The invasion of privacy on the Internet can take as variety of forms, some more invasive and insidious than others. Identity theft is one of the most prevalent and alarming of these threats and has become common in the age of online networking and the unsecured sharing of information. Identity theft is usually defined as, "… the appropriation of someone else's identity to commit fraud or theft" (Milne 388) or "… when someone acquires your personal information and uses it without your knowledge to apply for credit cards, make unauthorized purchases, gain access to your bank accounts or apply for credit and obtain loans in your name." (Milne 388).
The pervasiveness of this type of intrusion can be seen in the fact that, "This 21st century fraud combines deception (aka social engineering), impersonation, and automation to steal authentication credentials such as passwords and account numbers from individuals over the Internet, and uses this information for ill gain" (Wetzel 46). Identity theft is one of the most common and serious breaches of privacy in the online world and a Federal Trade Commission survey has found that approximately 30 million people have fallen victim to some form of identity theft in the past seven years (Young 86). The costs associated with this form of theft and invasion of privacy are outlined in figure 1.
Figure 1.
( source: http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?Item=1775)
Figure 2. The most common types of identity theft.
( Source: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/07/images/idtheft6.gif)
This form of invasion of privacy not only impacts the individual who may find his integrity and credit rating adversely affected, but it also has a serious effect on commerce and business. (Bielski 37)
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