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Digital privacy is the protection of personal information using digital means. It includes internet usage, domain names, and aggregating websites. Defining privacy in a constantly evolving technological landscape is a challenge for lawmakers. The debate will continue as technology advances.
The concept of digital privacy can best be described as the protection of private citizens’ information using digital means. However, when people talk about digital privacy, they are often referring to it in terms of its relationship to Internet usage. Despite being a popular and often inflammatory problem, the roadblock of defining what digital privacy really is can prevent resolution.
Digital privacy focuses on the fact that using digital means to conduct business, personal or professional, can leave fingerprints. For example, many Internet users are unaware that information about them and their Internet usage habits is constantly being recorded and stored. A computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address can be traced to a specific user, and as such, their website viewing habits can be monitored. Information such as the date and time of your searches, which browser you used to access websites, and even how long you viewed websites may be kept on a search engine’s servers. Servers can vary how long they store this information before deleting it.
Digital privacy can also extend to the use of domain names. Many domain owners take extra steps to protect their information by using domain privacy services, but the success of doing so is questionable. For example, some companies that specialize in domain privacy only need to receive a phone call requesting information about the domain owner before providing it. Also, if a website owner opts out of using the domain’s privacy services, their name, address, email address, phone number, and other associated details are entered into a public WHOIS database and can be retrieved by anyone. you look for it.
Some websites that specialize in aggregating information from various sources to provide users with profiles of private citizens are also a cause for concern among digital privacy advocates. These websites could return full names, dates of birth, addresses, aliases, pictures and maps of the homes of the people questioned, and much more. Also, these websites may detail an individual’s history. It is not uncommon to come across information detailing the last 10 years of a person questioned’s life.
While digital privacy is an issue that remains at the forefront of many private citizens’ minds as they attempt to navigate the internet and embrace new technologies, official and comprehensive protection remains out of reach. This is because the idea of privacy in a technological and, therefore, constantly evolving landscape, continues to change its meaning. Before the issue can be addressed, there needs to be a clear definition of what privacy means in the digital world.
The digital privacy debate rages on and will continue as technology advances. Internet users will always uphold their right to privacy and also their right to publicly accessible information. Questions about the legislation continue to arise as lawmakers try to strike a balance between protecting citizens’ privacy and keeping them informed.
