Privacy on the Internet
The starting point of the presentation was giving definition of the internet. Defined as ’network of networks’, it is a global data communications system carrying all kind of information resources and services.
After a brief outlook of the history of the internet, the presentation started to examine the main characteristics of it:
- on the one hand it is public and available for everyone, useful tool for opening access to data of public interest, serves freedom of thinking and freedom of expression on a global level,
- on the other hand it is rather vulnerable in terms of data security, a potential source of inaccurate or untruthful information and apt to make room for illegal activity.
The relationship between privacy and freedom of expression is the right to share one’s thoughts and experiences with a community of a fellow internet users, but contributors should avoid infringing other people’s individual rights. In these terms internet privacy is the ability to control what information one reveals about oneself over the internet and to control who can access that information. Among the risks of internet privacy we can find for example the phenomena of user-tracking, illegal and harmful content and on-line social networks.
To avoide the above mentioned risks help using the classic data protection principles: the principle of personal data frugality and data avoidance, the practical tools are anonymising, pseudonim use, nicknames and correct moderation principles.
There are a lot of interesting cases throug which we can observe the misuse of personal data on community sites. These are for example the ’Web Hall Shame’ websites, spams and the iwiw-cases, where there were grievances of insulting, obscene statements, innuendos and also photos being published. There was also the case of ’www.kuruc.info’, which was a website with political far-right affiliation. Here people disclosed names, addresses, home phone and mobile phone numbers of judges and prosecutors participating in criminal proceedings against rioters.
Finally, the future expectations are rather disturbing. In the European Union there are 250 million internet users with a lack of trust which can already threaten economical developement. But not economy is the only section of danger. Children are a special target group because of their extended vulnerability, the underestimation of risks and ignorance of privacy information. The USA Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act from 1998 rises the level of protection. In the light of this, we have to face the obligation to arrange awareness raising-programmes for children too.
The conclusion is that the internet shall never be a realm of legal immunity.