In my article Web 2.0 and Maintaining the Integrity of Online Intellectual Property I discussed what happens when information flowing through the Internet can change between the time it is created and the time it is consumed.
This can be both good and bad. Good aspects include the addition of new information and the resulting rich functionality and utility that can be created. Bad aspects include the possible loss of control over quality and authority as information "morphs" in ways that may have been unintended by the information's originators.
All in Privacy
In the downloadable MP3 audio file Google vs. Uncle Sam, Martin McKeay, Dan Sweet, and I talk about the U.S. government's request for search information from Google. (This is a Podcast Roundtable podcast.)
Checking my RSS news feeds this morning I discovered several postings around the Web that seem to say that Sony's original "rootkit" DRM not only hides itself in the bowels of the Windows operating system, it also installs a mechanism whereby, when the CD's "play" command is selected, information is sent back via the web to Sony about that event.
I recently sought out and accepted an invitation to use Gmail. Gmail is Google's free advertising-supported email service, still in beta testing.
Based on a few experiments, it looks like a good service. But I have some questions about where Gmail is heading that I'd like to think about some more.
I received yesterday in the mail a one-page form document from a Life Insurance Company titled OUR PRIVACY POLICY. The subheading of the document is "Required by the Federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and state privacy law." I decided to use this letter as the basis for some research into personal privacy protection.
Who Controls Personal Data?
Back in the Day, my favorite Latin quote was an example of the Ablative Absolute: “Eo Imperium Tenente, Eventum Timeo.” Loosely translated, this means, “Because he holds the power, I fear the outcome.” In some ways, fear and uncertainty exist today since, in many cases, people don’t understand, or even know, who has the “power” over how their personal data are used.
What is "Personal Data?"
When you start reading up on personal data and the definition of ownership, you quickly get caught up in questions about "what is property?" and "what data about me do I really own?"
These are tricky questions.
Proposed: A Choice-Based Approach to Controlling the Commercial Exploitation of Personal Data
Today significant commercial trafficking occurs in personal information. Credit bureaus, research companies, insurance firms, and corporations regularly buy and sell personal information. While much of this trafficking may be benign, most is either unknown to, or beyond the control of, the individuals this personal information describes.
Identity Theft and the Licensing of Personal Information
Many companies benefit from the buying and selling of personal, financial, and medical information about individual US citizens. Usually these companies behave in a responsible, law-abiding fashion.