INTRODUCTION:
Web site privacy and how much should we worry? This seems to be the major concern of Internet and network users today. There are many reasons for this concern ranging from ethical standards to the social impact of information systems. The internet has become one of the most important sources of personal data from organizations who want to reach their target market to users who want to take advantage of the convenience of doing research, shopping, or paying bills online. With this advance in technology, there are obvious risks that users must take, which are similar to opportunity costs in business. An opportunity cost is something that you will have to forfeit not necessarily money, but a risk that you must make in order to take advantage of an opportunity. Millions of people are now taking advantage of the convenience of the Internet and are highly concerned about their privacy.
This is one of the opportunity risks that they are taking. If a user or organization is too concerned about people having access to their personal information, and choose not to use the Internet, they are basically left with two options. One would be to not use the internet at all, but that would set them back about ten to fifteen years, which is not a very attractive option. The other would be to very easily go to a public library or University and use their system, but they still would not be able to shop online or take advantage of paying bills or online banking since personal information is needed to do so.
ANALYSIS OF THE CASE:
The material from this chapter gets very detailed into the legal principles of privacy and protection for Internet users and network users, but what seems to be more of an issue...
True...
I certainly agree that the Internet is just another way of collecting information on people. Just think how many different things you have put your name on - how many different sites ask you to register with them?!
As for luxury - well think about it, if you were earning $90 a week and a student, you probably wouldnt worry too much about having access to the net for $40 a month! - instead you'd go ALL the way to your uni campus and use the free computers. But when you earn just that little extra, you somehow suddenly NEED the net at home. Yeah... great now you don't have to go all the way to Uni to access the net, but think about it - isn't that just a luxury?
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