Online Clearinghouse Offers To Defend Privacy 30
jfruhlinger writes "Privacy may have become a hot-button issue in the Internet age, but the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has been fighting against corporate privacy violations for 20 years now. Today, they've launched an online complaint center that will hopefully help keep your private data private. Fill out the online form and the PRC will follow up with the privacy compliance officer at the company in question, or investigate whether a complaint to a government agency is in order."
consistency of action and voice (Score:4, Interesting)
Does anyone actually care about privacy any more? I do, but I also act to preserve mine.
As far as I can tell, 99.9% of the population does not care one whit. They'll cheerfully give all their private data to Facebook to sell to whoever wants it. They'll let google track their entire online presence and behavior through google analytics (or facebook through the "like" button). They'll load adverts and run javascripts from web pages that track them. They'll use supermarket tracking/discount cards. They won't encrypt their emails and IMs. They'll give all their personal data to a big telecom in exchange for a few hundred dollars/euros off a phone. They'll collectively push the internet away from its former open and anarchistic nature into proprietary, censorable for-profit communications like Twitter/FB, letting a few companies know everything about everybody. Sure, some few of ppls *claim* they value privacy, but you can tell what a person really thinks by their actions not their words. And the actions are clear: they are cheerfully willing to give up their privacy in exchange for a little convenience.
You use FB? You don't care about your privacy. You have a contract phone? You don't care about your privacy. You don't HAVE to have one, but you decided not to support the alternatives such as anonymous prepaid phones.
Almost nobody cares about privacy. That's the only conclusion one can make by watching their behaviors. And as long as almost nobody cares, the war to retain privacy can only be lost.
Re:consistency of action and voice (Score:4, Interesting)
I agree... kind of. But otoh, I think you are being a bit overzealous in your claims.
I use facebook - but I do not post anything and everything to my facebook. And even though my facebook is "friends only" I only really post stuff to facebook that I would not care if it were 100% public.
For example, I do not share my daily schedule with facebook. I do not post my financials or mortgage information. I do not post floor plans of my home, my property size or value. I do not post my private medical records, what prescriptions i may take, what cell phone plan I have, where i use my phone the most. I do not regularly "check in" to locations to share where I am, and I do not constantly share everything I read on slashdot, or elsewhere.
The implication that use of any of the mentioned services, such as facebook, and desire to maintain privacy, are mutually exclusive is bunk, at best.