Focusing on Our Privacy

There are times when it frightens me to think that my every move on the Internet is monitored; then, I think of the alternative.  Although my Internet use is rather boring (shopping, researching), I realize that there are those with less than pure motives.  According to an article presented in The New York Times by Edward Wyatt entitled “Legislators Support Internet Privacy, but Question How to Achieve it,” legislators support a “do-not-track” method to restrict what is known about online activity; however, this comes with a balancing act—how to limit information released without impacting the advertisers who rely on such information.  Thus far, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has not found any indication that advertisers have been impacted by some of the initial attempts.  Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation of America, equated a lack of privacy focus to being physically followed by someone recording our every action.  Now, it is up to Congress to decided if “Internet privacy policies really mean anything, and if necessary, how to make them stick.”  Let’s hope a solution is found soon to give us some privacy while maintaining the necessary security.