Privacy For Consumers | FreedomWorks

Issues: Privacy For Consumers

Children's Privacy

In 1998, Congress passed the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act to protect kids who are using the Internet from aggressive marketing techniques. In a nutshell, commercial web sites that target children cannot collect personal information from kids under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent.

Cookies

A cookie, simply, is a small text file that a website places in a special folder on your harddrive. It can contain information about you that is specific to the site, such as a password or your favorite color, or it just might be an anonymous marker to let a site know that you’ve visited before. Cookies have a lot of useful purposes, allowing you to create personalized web experiences without having to constantly re-enter your preferences at a given website.

E-mail Spam

If you have an Internet e-mail account, you’ve probably received an unwanted solicitation for some get-rich-quick scheme or an adult site. How do these shady characters get your e-mail address in the first place?

Identity Theft

The 1990s brought a new and particularly virulent form of information crime, identity theft. Identity thieves obtain someone’s personal information and use it to open credit card and bank accounts, secure loans, and otherwise use your good name to obtain goods and services. By the time the bill comes due, the thieves are long gone and so is your creditworthiness.

Surfing Guidelines

There are a few basic guidelines to follow that can go a long way towards protecting yourself from the most egregious invasions of privacy while online.

U.S. Privacy Authorities

Unlike many other industrialized nations, the United States does not have a large governmental organization dedicated to privacy, or for that matter very many laws that specifically address privacy. That’s probably a good thing, as Internet and other communications technology is advancing so quickly that such a large government effort would be clumsy and possibly counter-productive.

Helpful Software

There are a number of useful software programs that can help you manage and protect your privacy online. CSE doesn’t recommend any specific products; this is just a (partial) list of what’s available, for your general information. If you know of a good product that should be listed here, please contact us at cse@cse.org.

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