Abstract
The rise of the internet as a fact of daily life is the defining element of the modern age. Widespread use of the internet has fundamentally altered entire industries, and much of American life has migrated online. Dating is augmented by online dating; shopping by online shopping; television by internet streaming.
The digitization of American life has brought with it considerable benefits, including great convenience and innumerable efficiencies, but it has not come without a cost. Although there are many business models used by internet companies, many of the now-largest companies in the world have converged on one entity upon which to stake their profits: data. Personal data, or information tied to a person and their actions on and offline, is being collected, stored, analyzed, and leveraged by large technology companies, often without people’s knowledge. This use of consumer data without proper, informed consent is a massive breach of privacy and must be rectified. Consumers have a right to know when their data is being collected and to refuse that collection.
Recommended Citation
Dunn, Kaleb
(2020)
"Data Is Personal: We Should Treat It As Such,"
Student Papers in Public Policy: Vol. 2
:
Iss.
1,
Article 4.
Available at:
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/sppp/vol2/iss1/4
