disLEXia

Thursday, 21. November 1996

Digital footprints on the Internet (Article in UK Guardian)

The online edition of the UK Guardian newspaper has a long article on the way that "Internet users leave traces and records of every online action, from sending e-mail or posting to newsgroups to visiting Web sites."

... At the moment unwanted e-mail is about the limit of the intrusion, but this could change. Internet commentator Dominique Paul Noth points out: "You have no guarantee that the information is intelligently or even accurately employed to your benefit." As more information is collected, it is more useful to those collecting it - and less easily controlled.

... One alternative is making yourself anonymous by deleting cookie files and using mail programs that disguise your identity.

However, making yourself anonymous online means that you cannot personalise Web pages, ask for information via e-mail, or join mailing lists. The issue, as Noth and other commentators recognise, is more to do with how this information is used. Credit card companies know what we are buying, and there is a legal framework to control their use of this information. There is no such framework in force for online information.

It seems that the very lack of "real world" controls over online activity which many Internet users favour has created the environment in which marketing companies can thrive. As long as the Internet is seen as somehow outside the reach of the law, then there will be those who abuse its freedom. So as you surf for Christmas presents, look out for surprises in your mailbox as a result.

The full article is at http://go2.guardian.co.uk/internet/961121wwonDigitlafootprint.html (However, note that newspaper articles on the Web are often only visible for a short time.)

Martin Minow minow@apple.com [Martin Minow <minow@apple.com> via risks-digest Volume 18, Issue 63]
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disLEXia, a research project by Maximillian Dornseif