There have always been suspicions of the US government
spying on its own citizens along with everyone else in the world, but with the
recent news regarding Edward Snowden and the NSA, we know it is no longer a
suspicion. Because of this, several
countries including China, Brazil and others in Europe are wanting to move
away from the US internet systems and servers.
So what is the US government going to do to intervene with this big
mess? Jerry Brown, California Governor, and California Senate have signed a
bill into law that, starting in 2015, will require online companies to delete
any material from public viewing that a minor has posted upon their request.
A law in California already requires every website to let
their visitors know what information they are gathering and who it will be
shared with. The new law called, SB568, requires companies to go even further
and state whether they honor do-not-follow requests of their users. A big concern from myself,
and I’m sure of more people, is what information of yours are companies
tracking, taking and using? Between
pre-existing laws and SB568, California residents will have all of their questions
answered.
There are some areas that this law does not give a user,
especially a minor, protection from however.
If a third party posted a picture or made a comment concerning a given
minor, the website does not have to honor that minor’s request to remove the
material. This is not too big of a deal
however, because all that minor has to do is ask their friend to request that
post be removed. The law also does not entitle someone who is older than 18 to
request a company to delete something that they posted as a minor. None the less, this new law will greatly
impact the future of online privacy for the younger generations to come because
of the new standards set forth by the state of California.
As previously stated, the privacy of US citizens has
always been concerned with how private their information truly is from the
government and companies. This new law
in California is a big step in terms of allowing citizens to know exactly what
information companies are accessing and what they are doing with it. It will be interesting to see what other
states do in the near future regarding this matter along with what the US
government will do. I am interested to
hear opinions on this law and whether you agree it is good or not.
References: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/New-law-lets-teens-delete-digital-skeletons-4837309.php
Haha California is like it's only little world with separate laws. Interesting post. I would like to know what they are tracking. BUT do you think they REALLY are going to give people privacy or it's just some gimmick to hush ppl up and make them feel like the gov't is not watching them even though they really are??
ReplyDeleteOf course the NSA is still going to monitor people, there is nothing anyone can do about that. This law only furthers protection from companies that are tracking you and gives minors more power over managing their internet history.
DeleteI like this idea. It gives minors the ability to more or less take back things they said or did online. I know when I was younger I posted some things I probably should not have and it is nice to say someone making an attempt to protect minors from themselves.
ReplyDeleteYes I know I also posted some very dumb things on facebook, etc. when I was younger that I wish I didn't. It will be interesting to see if any other states make a similar law to this one
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ReplyDeleteI think these laws are definitely a step in the right direction. What I would like to see though is companies giving users a choice of what/how information can be used. For example, one company may tell me that if I "join," they are going to do "X, Y, and Z" with my information. This doesn't give the user any real options. They can either agree to everything and join, or not agree and give up the opportunity. Probably a "pipe dream" due to all the different scenarios, but I think it would be better for companies to give choices if you'd like to join.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, I completely agree with you and that is a great idea. Putting the power back in the hands of the consumers would be great, but it would definitely take awhile to develop.
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