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Anthony CarpenterMr. DorhoutEng10010952 December 2014Your Not So Private, PrivacyPrivacy is defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as, “The qualified legal right of a person to have reasonable privacy in not having his private affairs made known or his likeness exhibited to the public having regard to his habits, mode of living, and occupation.” As citizens of the United States of America we assume to have a right that our personal information remains private. We can all assume whatever we would like to, but our personal privacy is anything but private. Google and social media sites are banking on it. Over the last forty years some steps have been taken by our government in an attempt to protect our personal and private information from misuse and abuse. U.S Code title 15 chapter 2 subchapter I § 45 (Law) states it is the responsibility of the Federal Trade Commission to prevent "unfair methods of competition in or affecting commerce". Banks and lending institutions are excluded. Another older law is, The Privacy Act of 1974 this assures the personal information the United States Government has collected about its citizens does not fall into the hands of any unauthorized persons or entities. The Freedom of Information Act allows you to review the information collected and request modification and be informed of who has been granted access to your personal data. This proves the government was concerned with the protection of your private information collected by or submitted to them four decades ago.Consumer Credit Reporting act of 1996 was written to keep the financial information collected about you by lending institutions safer by putting “limits” on those who can access your personal information.The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 also known as COPPA places restrictions on what information can be gathered by the operators of websites that have a targeted market of children under the age of 13 years.In 1999 The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act requires financial institutions “to provide a privacy policy to customers, which explains what kinds of information are being collected and how that information is used. Such institutions are further required to develop safeguards in order to protect the information they collect from customers.” This act is a bit more updated for the current digital world in which we live as it does include statement that the disclosure statement can be provided to customer, “in writing or in electronic form.” Most of us are giving away our personal information on a daily basis without even knowing it. We are doing this every time we Google something or play Farmville or download an application on our phones. Google generates huge profits annually through marketing to you personally. Google collects the searches and websites that you have clicked on and places ads that appeal directly to you on every website you visit based on this browsing history. For example if you are searching for a new motorcycle online you will likely begin seeing customized banner advertisements for motorcycle dealers on non-related web sites. This marketing technique is known as online profiling. In the paper titled Consumer Privacy and Data Protection written by Selis, et al. describes online profiling as “… a complex topic involving many definitions. It can refer to the collection of anonymous transactional data that is used to create customized web sites or targeted advertisements. It can also refer to the merger of "clickstream data" with personally identifiable information. It has contributed to the expansion of Internet advertising, which has been the key to funding the explosive growth in Web content available to consumers without charge.” In February 2012 Jarrod Newman wrote an article for PC World Magazine titled “Top EULA Gotchas: Website Fine-Print Hall of Shame.” In that article he quotes the following directly from the Google privacy policy, "we will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to: meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request." Jarrod goes on to explain that if your information is provided to the authorities, you do not have the right to be notified.Google is also the current developer of Android the most widely used smart phone and mobile device operating system in the world. With 84% of the market share as of the third quarter of 2014 according to a recent IDC Corporation USA research publishing CITATION IDC \l 1033 (IDC). This operating system requires you to be linked to a g-mail account before the devise is fully functional. Once the g-mail account is linked the invasion of your privacy begins. The preinstalled Google apps are additional tools to collect your personal data. In January 2014 Computer estimated there will be one billion Android operating system users by the end of this year. Google has access to your call history and your e-mail through your account. Google Books keeps track of what you are reading. Google Maps, knows where you have been and when. Google owns You Tube and knows what you have watched. Google owns Picasa where you can store your photos. Picasa also has facial recognition software so it knows what you and your friends look like when you are tagged. Pam Dixon, executive director and founder at the World Privacy Forum, Has said the following of Google "No company has ever had this much consumer data. Because of Google's opacity as to how it is using that data, and a lack of fundamental information rights [that] users have, [privacy] becomes a very thorny question," Pam explains, “The World Privacy Forum is dedicated to reimagining privacy in a digital era through groundbreaking, in-depth privacy research, analysis, and consumer education of the highest quality. Our vision is to empower people with the knowledge, rights, and tools they need to protect their privacy and shape their digital lives.”In December 2013 Chris Morran with The reported that The FTC found that a flashlight app for Android OS that had been downloaded over 50 million times was collecting location data on its users and transmitting that information to a third party. The apps permission screen does state the user is giving the app the ability to access the devices location, The FTC states that the apps End User License Agreement also known as EULA “does not make it clear that this information was being shared with third parties.” The FTC labeled this act as deceptive marketing by the app developers. The two parties have since reached a settlement that prohibits the developer “from misrepresenting how consumers’ information is collected and shared and how much control consumers have over the way their information is used. Any personal information collected from users up until this point must also be deleted. The settlement requires the developer to provide a just-in-time disclosure that fully informs consumers when, how, and why their geolocation information is being collected, used and shared, and will not be able to do so without users’ affirmative express consent.” An FTC report published in June of 1998 revealed that 87-97% of websites sampled collect at least one type of information from site visitors. 92% of websites collected personal information such as social security numbers, gender, and age.Facebook is also a method of telling the entire world your thoughts, sharing photos and videos, beliefs, reporting status updates and basically sharing any detail of your life with your friends and family. Facebook does have personal privacy settings that can be adjusted as loose or as strict as you would like. Jarrod Newman’s article for PC World magazine also references the following directly from Facebooks’ statement of rights and responsibilities, "You grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License)." This means Facebook can use any content on your account as long as it is posted. According to a Wall Street Journal investigation in October 2010 even people with the strictest of privacy settings are not safe. The article said “Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people's names and, in some cases, their friends' names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies...” This information was being transmitted to outside companies through the use of apps on the user’s Facebook page.In an article written for PBS by Phil McKenna in November 2013 titled “My Identity Was Stolen. Here’s How They Did It”, Phil explains that 5% of the adult population in the U.S. are the victims of Identity theft. He explains that to steal ones identity you first need the targets social security number. A thief with “some basic demographic information and a general understanding of how the federal government assigns social security numbers, miscreants could predict individuals’ numbers with an alarmingly high degree of accuracy. “ The first five digits can be predicted with a person’s birth date and birth state. The final four digits will be easy “If you assume a brute force attack where you try combinations of one thousand different social security numbers, then the probability of successfully getting the right number for certain states and years of birth can be disturbingly high,”In April of 2012, Alan Harvey reported in an interview with Rainey Reitman, Activism Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in his article titled, “ HYPERLINK ""Why You Should Care About and Defend Your Privacy” said, “The fact is, your data is worth real, tangible money to the companies that offer you free services.” He goes on to say that you are worth just under five dollars a year to Facebook and the companies they do business with. It is not only businesses collecting your information. Reitman goes on to state that “filing?a simple FOIA request?revealed that government agencies like the DEA and even the IRS regularly collect, store, and request information from companies like Facebook and Twitter.” The data collected is not just used to catch criminals as Reitman explains, "Those organizations all?map social graphs to see how people of interest relate to each other, and subsequently investigate their friends, followers, and others in their networks." To boot, the government often doesn't bother to get a court order or justify the reason they want this information to the network in question—they make a few phone calls or send over a letter asking for someone's information, and the service responds with the requested data.”In March 2014 Steve Kroft a correspondent for CBS news interviewed Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill about the companies known as data brokers that are buying and selling your information. Steve defined data brokers as, “They're called data brokers, and they are collecting, analyzing and packaging some of our most sensitive personal information and selling it as a commodity...to each other, to advertisers, even the government, often without our direct knowledge.” Julie explains that the information is being used to create personal dossiers. Julie goes on to say “No one even knows how many companies there are trafficking in our data. But it's certainly in the thousands, and would include research firms, all sorts of Internet companies, advertisers, retailers and trade associations. The largest data broker is Acxiom, a marketing giant that brags it has, on average, 1,500 pieces of information on more than 200 million Americans.” Tim Sparapani who is an advisor for tech companies and app makers was also interviewed by Steve Kroft states the following “people would be stunned to learn what's being compiled about them and sold, and might end up in their profiles; religion, ethnicity, political affiliations, user names, income, and family medical history. And that's just for openers. What clubs you may be frequenting what bars and restaurants you're making purchases at, what other products you may be buying online.” Tim goes on to confirm that all of your information can easily be put into a file and sold to a prospective employer.CBS was able to go online and collect a bit of information about the companies that buy and sell your private information. The following is a short list of the companies, names, locations and data collected: A Connecticut data broker called "Statlistics" advertises lists of gay and lesbian adults and "Response Solutions" -- people suffering from bipolar disorder."Paramount Lists" operates out of this building in Erie, Pa., and offers lists of people with alcohol, sexual and gambling addictions and people desperate to get out of debt. A Chicago company, "Exact Data," is brokering the names of people who had a sexually transmitted disease, as well as lists of people who have purchased adult material and sex toys. "Take 5 Solutions," a data broker in Boca Raton, Fla., runs 17 websites like "" and "T5 ," where people can share stories about their families and health. What web visitors don't realize is that "Take 5's" real business is collecting and selling the information.Just think of all the personal information being volunteered by people on dating sites, when surveys are filled out, warranty registrations. Anytime you apply for a rebate or coupons online. When you submit and update your student loan information. Every semester you provide proof of health insurance to your collage as you register for classes. This is a staggering amount of information and is updated in real time and on a regular basisSo it appears the internet and Mobile apps are an ocean full of sharks looking to take a bite out of you. What can you do to protect yourself? Julia Angwin offers some tips from her Book titled Dragnet Nation, Julia states that to protect your privacy “is to be a smarter web browser.” This is easier said than done as popular web browsers are offered at no cost to the user, but as we know the browser companies are profiting off your use of their product. As we also now know nothing is free. Julia states that there are do not track options available with Google Chrome Incognito mode and Internet explorer in private browsing but neither will not protect you from being tracked. Choosing those options when browsing only prevents the next person who opens your browser from having access to your browsing history.So how do we combat the situation? Julia recommends using Mozilla Firefox with a few programs added. She recommends: HTTPS Everywhere, “created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project. This tool forces your Web browser to use encrypted Internet connections to any website that will allow it. This prevents hackers?– and the?National Security Agency?– from eavesdropping on your Internet connections.” Julia also recommends Disconnect, “a program created by former Google engineer Brian Kennish, which blocks advertisers and social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, from tracking which websites you visit.” She has set her default search engine to be DuckDuckGo, “a search engine that doesn’t store any of the information that is automatically transmitted by your computer — the IP address and other digital footprints?— so DuckDuckGo has no way to link your search queries to you. That means DuckDuckGo won’t auto-complete your search queries based on your previous searches or based on your physical location, as Google does. So you’ll have to be a little smarter about your searches, and remember to bookmark the pages that you visit often, to save time.”Julia states that recently a browser has been offered that includes all the added software listed above called WhiteHat Aviator. “It has built-in HTTPS Everywhere, it doesn’t retain or sell your online activity, and it uses Disconnect to block trackers from advertisers and social media companies. Its default search engine is DuckDuckGo.” At the time of her book release WhiteHat Aviator was only available for the Mac OSX operating system. It is now also available for windows operating systems as well. In June of 2014 article titled How to Protect Your Online Privacy writer Chiron recommends the use of a privacy oriented e-mail services such as Unseen, Riseup, Tor Mail or Zoho Mail. The protection of your privacy is largely your own responsibility. When using social media be aware of what you post can also be seen by unfriendly eyes. When downloading apps read the EULA and look at the functions of your phone that app will have access to. Ask yourself, “Why does a flashlight app need access to my phone book?” After all it is your life and your privacy and as an American you do have the qualified legal right in not having your private affairs made known.Now you have a little more information about how and why companies and governments collect your personal and sometimes very private information for the use of profiling and profiteering and you have a list of tools to help keep that data to yourself.Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY \l 1033 Angwin, Julia. . 13th March 2014.Chiron. . n.d.Fowler, Emily Steel And Geoffrey A. . 18 October 2010.FTC. . n.d.—. . June 1998.Harvey, Alan. . n.d.. n.d.. n.d.. n.d.Kroft, Steve. . n.d.Law, Cornell University of. . n.d.—. . n.d.—. . n.d.Mitchell, Robert L. . n.d.Morran, Chris. . n.d.Newman, Jarrod. . 06 Feburary 2012.Online, Merriam-Webster. . n.d.Selis, Paula. . n.d. ................
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