Personal Data Protection And What It Means In The US
While it might come as a surprise to many, it is actually the case that personal data protection in the United States may be weaker than in many other parts of the world. With the focus on the right to privacy that so many people believe in when it comes to just about anything that might be considered private, the fact that a large amount of personal data is available to anyone can be a bit disconcerting.
At present, data privacy is neither assured nor very well legislated or regulated in the US. There are, in fact, a great many people or organizations that can require or use or obtain a credit report when a person goes to apply for a job or purchase an automobile or the like. Also, the US has no single controlling authority when it comes to regulating data collection or usage.
It is a fact that the storage, use and acquisition of personal data are greatly affected by this condition. It should serve to cause a great deal of concern that anyone troubling themselves enough to enter in personal data on anyone will be considered to be the owners of that online data when it comes to storing and using it even if no one gave permission for that data to be stored or collected.
And even though there are laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA, it might also serve to concern people once they find out that such laws are more about how to go about efficiently moving information through networks rather than sufficiently protecting it from any theft or usage that has not been authorized by the people that the information is about.
And though a right to privacy — as enumerated by the Supreme Court in a landmark decision some years ago — exists within the Constitution and Bill of Rights of the United States, it is somewhat disconcerting to realize that almost no state, with the exception of California, officially recognizes an individual right to privacy.
When it comes to protecting the privacy of data that has been collected and stored in information systems there are a set of effective tools that are known in the collective sense as “privacy enhancing technologies, ” or PET. These consist of certain computer tools, mechanisms and applications which can allow an online user to protect the privacy of information that might allow a person to be identified.
Several examples of such privacy protection technology include certain anonymizers that have to do with how an online identity can be protected during communication such as that which occurs during e-mail or instant mail messaging, for example. These technologies can generate random IP addresses, disposable e-mail addresses and even pseudonyms.
As far as the implications for personal data protection in the United States, it should serve as a reminder that as increasing numbers of people begin making use of online mechanisms and other tools that exist in cyberspace in need will become greater than ever to ensure strong privacy exists. This includes strengthening laws that can work to help eliminate the possibility of personal data theft.
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