Friday, May 08, 2009

Your Rights and the Internet

Internet usage can reduce your Constitutional rights. At least, that's the argument being made.

The voluntary transfer of such content and related data to third-party Internet communication facilitators reduces or eliminates First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Internet users. The technology and protocols used to enable Internet communication, as interpreted by existing privacy statutes and case law, further compromises Internet users' privacy and publicity rights.

The article is rather dry reading, but makes an important point about privacy in the Internet Age. Specifically, you don't have any. Because of the way the internet transfers information, you can't really have a reasonable expectation of privacy while using it. Companies are trying to address the issue, through encryption and other means, but it is important for people to recognize that privacy is difficult to have on the internet.