Privacy

As many of us live our lives online, it is difficult to maintain a level of privacy and confidentiality. When personal information is shared through websites and applications, the data created can be used in ways that are far removed from the user's original intention.  It becomes more than just a casual social media post or a quick online purchase.   

During the tail end of Obama's administration, legislation was passed to protect consumer's rights to online privacy and for internet service providers to ask permission before collecting consumer online activity, such as browsing history and location. Although this was only to include broadband and wireless providers, with FB and Google still able to use personal data, it was believed to be a step in the right direction for consumers(Fiegerman, 2017).   

Just recently, this issue has resurfaced with Congress and President Trump repealing these protections and allowing internet service providers to access private information and sell consumer online data.  

In opposition, Democratic Representative Anna Eshoo stated, "I don't want anyone to take my information and sell it to someone and make a ton of money off of it just because they can get their mitts on it." (as cited by Fiegerman, 2017).

So what now? How can a consumer protect their privacy online? The internet is such an integral part of most people's lives and it's not something that someone can just walk away from.   
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Fiegerman, Seth. (2017). Congress just killed your Internet privacy protection. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/28/technology/house-internet-privacy-repeal/