You can’t have your privacy and eat it
Amid the furore over the bungled EU Cookie law there seems a real hysteria over ‘Online Privacy,’ with some effectively suggesting the term constitutes an oxymoron (a bit like ‘English summer’).
Take a few minutes to watch this TED video featuring Gary Kovacs, CEO of Mozilla.
Ostensibly, Kovacs’ points are alarming. But before we get all outraged about it, isn’t this what the Web was meant to be all about? Wasn’t it all about providing content relevant to the individual rather than generically to the entire online population? Without some form of identification associated to the individual, how is any Web mechanic supposed to provide relevance? You can’t have your online privacy cake and eat it.
I think the problem here is actually one of definition. Privacy is black-and-white. A lack of privacy implies an invasion, therefore a Bad Thing. However, if instead we talk about (and provide) transparency, then things change fundamentally.
If the language around this emotive issue was based upon providing transparency as opposed to removing privacy, then I believe attitudes would change entirely.
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Hi Dom,
I read your comment with interest, then watched the link to Gary Kovacs’ TED video.
I found the subject incredibly interesting and if I’m honest have never really given it much thought. However, out of curiosity I installed the Collusion Firefox plugin then clicked on four standard daily sites I visit: business website; social media; personal email and banking site.
I then sat back and became enlightened by the atomic growth of my simple browsing habits. Within an hours there were 54 ‘hooks’ from other sites.
Whilst I’m confident in my personal and professional browsing habits, it does leave me slightly concerned that this data is being collected without my permission – albeit now with my sub-conscious knowledge. Now that I am more aware of the transparency within the web, it will make my decision a little more considered when it comes to sharing specific content, or personal information.
Great article though and I look forward to further content.
Bazz