Personal Privacy

Personal privacy is an issue that people should be concerned with in this age of technology. Personal information such as medical records, insurance records, arrest records, employment records, bank and credit records, social security records, tax records, school records, phone records and email are private information, or is it?

The growth of technology and the Internet has made this information readily available. Personal privacy will be categorized as Identity Privacy, Information Privacy and Educational Privacy.

Identity Privacy

Nearly all Americans have a Social Security Number. It was originally created as an identifier for tax and benefit purposes. Today, this number is used frequently as identification in education, banking and shopping.

Because of its frequent use, it has given companies a way to invade our private lives and easily track information about us. With the expansion of the Internet and computer networking, the information they gather can be readily shared. The sharing of our private information is often done without our knowledge or permission.

One major concern about this increased sharing is the roll it plays in identity theft. As personal information is combined with social security numbers, it allows a potential criminal to effortlessly assume another person's identity. Under their “new” name, thieves can obtain credit cards, loans and gain access to a consumer's personal records.

Victims are often left defenseless to protect themselves until it is too late. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports that in the year 2004 there were approximately 246,570 victims of identity theft in the United States - 11,138 of those were in Illinois (http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/CY2004/Illinois%20CY2004.pdf).

“knowingly transfer or use, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person with the intent to commit, or to aid or abet, any unlawful activity that constitutes a violation of Federal law, or that constitutes a felony under any applicable State or local law.”

Many other legislative acts, on both a Federal and State level, have been passed to help combat the identity theft problem. Detailed information on this legislation is available from the FTC at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/federallaws.html.

So, what can we do? The FTC offers tips to consumers on how to protect themselves and steps to take to combat thieves in cases of identity theft on a special website, http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/index.html.

Another information-gathering tool used by companies is Internet “cookies and web bugs”. Through the use of these “cookies/web bugs”, companies can gain information about users' surfing and buying habits.

This information on a user's activities, know as a “clickstream”, is transmitted back to the webpage operators. This data is taken with or without the users’ knowledge. Both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape can be configured to reject cookies in an effort to preserve privacy. Additional information on this topic is available by visiting the Spyware section of this paper.

Information Privacy

As computerization has increased over the years, so has the storing of information and records in computer files rather than paper files. This information includes medical records, insurance records, arrest records, employment records, bank and credit records, tax records, and phone records.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) established rules and limits on who can have access to your health and medical records. It is important that consumers understand the implications of this law in order to make informed decisions about how they allow their private information to be used and in order to exercise their rights. Detailed information on HIPPA is available from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/).

Companies also have access to a prospective employee's arrest records even without the applicants consent. In Illinois, this information can be accessed online at http://www.idoc.state.il.us/.

Many states also have sex offender registry web sites. In Illinois, registered sex offenders information is available at http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/frames.htm. Although this is private information, it is deemed in the public’s best interest to have access to these records.

Educational Privacy

Education records are another example of private records that need to be kept private. According to the Federal Education Records and Privacy Act (FERPA), any school that receives federal funds must first obtain a student's consent before releasing school records.

School transcripts and grades are to be viewed only by the student unless written permission is given. Grades often are posted in the classroom but can not be listed by social security number or name. Every effort must be made to ensure student privacy. Posting grades on the internet must be done in a secure or password protected fashion.

Many schools have an Acceptable Usage Policy that allows school officials to review a log of web sites students’ visit, the e-mails sent to and from their school email accounts and their network folders. Safety seems to be the main reason for these policies.

However, there is a concern that parties outside of the school maybe able to access this information. Schools must not only be responsible for protecting their network, but also the information available through the network.

USA PATRIOT Act

In October of 2001, Congress passed the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 as know as the USA PATRIOT Act, or USAPA. The creation of this legislation was in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

This act amended several already existing statues that include:

• Wiretap Statute (Title III):
• Electronic Communications Privacy Act
• Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
• Family Education Rights and Privacy Act
• Pen Register and Trap and Trace Statute
• Money Laundering Act
• Immigration and Nationality Act
• Money Laundering Control Act
• Bank Secrecy Act
• Right to Financial Privacy Act
• Fair Credit Reporting Act

It significantly increased the surveillance and investigative abilities of law enforcement agencies and gave the government tremendous leeway to interception of personal communications. (http://www.epic.org/privacy/terrorism/usapatriot/).

The Patriot Act basically makes all personal information, banking, internet activities, etc. free game for the US Government and they can be obtained without the consent or knowledge of the “suspect”. The American Civil Liberties Union advocates that large sections of the Patriot Act are poorly written and jeopardize our constitutional freedoms. They argue the intention of the Act was to combat terrorism and not to invade the privacy and rights of Americans (http://action.aclu.org/reformthepatriotact/).

Several provisions of the USAPA are set to expire this year and are presently being reviewed by Congress.

Conclusion

In today’s digital age, personal privacy is a big concern, as personal information can be accessed and shared without consent. A person's identity can also be stolen by utilizing this information. We must take care to protect ourselves. Practical tips are available at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse at http://www.privacyrights.org/. In this technological age, diligence is required to protect our personal privacy.