Erasing Your Web Footprint in the Name
of Data Privacy
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| source:sandiegorealestatepix.com |
One
of the modern challenges law firms face is the ever-changing process of how
information is being circulated and used in the World Wide Web. This is in
connection with the enforcement of the law of Data Privacy and every nation has
its own version of it. In the Philippines, it is the Republic Act No. 10173 or
the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”.
Law firms must be constantly be updated to be able to
handle their client’s interests. However, despite the laws being pushed to
protect the Netizens, some of us still can’t grasp what data privacy
really is. Is it the matter of staying anonymous online? Well, one thing is
sure: we all want it.
It
seems impossible to achieve absolute data privacy because in some cases we have
to share some basic information about ourselves. What are the examples of online
activities that may compromise our privacy? They could be in the form of answering
quizzes or surveys that sometimes require entering an email address, or shopping
online and they ask for a credit card number to purchase an item, or after you
like latest Facebook post about the iPhone you’ve just bought. Every post,
every comment, and every transaction you made make up your online identity, and
it is all exposed for the whole world to see.
Businesses
are also struggling to keep their online identity and branding intact and
secured. This is ever since almost all companies took advantage of the Internet
to sell or offer their products and services. The reputation and future of the
company, financially, are at stake the moment a data breach or leak happens
just like what happened to several known companies such as Sony Pictures
Entertainment Inc., Apple Inc., and Amazon.com Inc.
Can
we count on the websites – where we need to enter basic personal information as
part of their registration procedure – to safeguard our data? Even though they
“promised” they won’t publicize anything we input in their forms, can they give
us an assurance that the info will remain just as “stored” data? Unfortunately,
this is not the actual and real scenario.
For
instance, according to Google’s Privacy Policy, under the “how we use the
information we collect” section, Google says, “we
also use this information to offer you tailored content – like giving you more
relevant search results and ads.” So, don’t be mystified if you receive
personalized ads. This is also a policy of search engines such as Yahoo! and
Bing. It is also the same lyrics being sung by social networking sites like
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and others.
The important question is, “how can you erase your web
footprint?” For techy-savvies out there, may be you’ve tried one of the
following:
·
You have installed extensions
or plug-ins on your web browser to keep away those “cookie monsters” and pop-up
ads.
·
Opt out from websites who use
your data without your consent.
·
Turn off the Web History
option to prevent search engines like Google to record every site you’ve
visited. (This is aside from the Settings menu on your web browser.)
·
Switched to private search
engines or remained “incognito mode” forever.
·
You have been well-adapted to
using virtual private networks (tor browser) although they’re slower to work
with.
Yes, you’ve done all of these in the name of “data privacy”
and not all of these extra security features are for free. So much for keeping
yourself anonymous from the data mining sharks of the World Wide Web.
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