Data Privacy Case

Data privacy for users of the internet has become a growing concern in the last decade. Privacy guidelines have become a necessity for all levels of users today. The United States and the European Union have enacted many laws to govern how information is collected and distributed on the internet. To have proper policies to govern this certain things must be defined, such as who will have access to the information, how the data will be used, and how it will be collected. One way in which information has been gathered is through the use of tracking cookies. Although much of the information being collected online appears to be going unused, some of it is being used actively, often to the benefit of the individual to whom it pertains. Individuals frequently reveal personal information to gain benefits such as home delivery of products, customized services, and the ability to buy items on credit. I enjoy the convenience of ordering books online; with just a few clicks of the mouse they can be billed to my credit card and delivered to my door. But I often wonder whether online stores are using my information for purposes other than processing my order. Which leads me to what I think is the root of the privacy problem: Consumers have little knowledge about or control over the use of their personal information. This problem is exacerbated on the Internet due to the ease with which information can be collected, processed and combined with other information.

Although commercial Web sites are evolving toward more privacy-friendly practices, many still collect information without providing any explanation about what they will do with it. When people find out that their data might be used in ways they didn't expect, or that information they did not know about is being silently collected, they get worried. There is nothing inherently evil about HTTP cookies, although they can potentially be used in undesirable ways. But most people don't understand what cookies