Collecting personal information from users on the internet is not a new issue. It has been around for a long time, and it started out as something that was commonly done. For example, it was normal to provide your name and email address when you registered on a certain website. Social networking sites would even give users the option to provide even more sensitive personal information. Users willingly shared data with different web companies, not thinking about any privacy implications.

Then, targeted advertising was popularized by companies that use this collected personal information. They have accumulated so much of it that they could build profiles of users, especially when it comes to their product preferences. Immediately, privacy advocates cautioned users to be more prudent when sharing their personal data. Despite intensive consumer education, privacy issues got worse, and problems cropped up.

Private communication between teachers and students is one of the issues that have recently been brought to Court. The State of Missouri has a new law that prohibits teachers from having private communication with students over the internet. Feeling offended, a teachers’ association filed a court case naming the State, the Governor and the Attorney-General as defendants.

A Missouri state Senator defended the new law, saying that there is no violation of freedom of speech and other rights. These grounds were contained in the teachers’ complaint filed by the Missouri State Teachers’ Association. Further, the representative said that the law doesn’t stop any means of communication. It only prohibits secret communication between educators and students who are usually minors. Teachers and students may communicate over the internet only if parents, administrators or the public can view the internet site.

Schools are, with the adoption of the law, required to fine tune their policies to conform to the law. Teachers decided to express their negative reaction through their association, and said that such prohibition is unconstitutional. The teachers tried to explain their opposition by citing the vagueness and broadness of the act. According to them, there are no specific boundaries between which behavior is permitted and which is not. They also said that the law seems to restrain the exercise of the First Amendment rights, including that of free speech and association among others.

While the issue of GPS tracking and anonymity in public places continues, there is also the issue of online surveillance that still persists. Opposition was raised by critics against the use of GPS tracking technology without a proper warrant. It is because people might lose their privacy when the Court allows GPS tracking by the police. When this happens, GPS tracking devices will be placed in public places and no one will be able to escape from being watched.

People in the virtual world, especially on social networks, might also lose their anonymity. The use of this so-called online surveillance allows “movements” of people in the virtual world to be monitored. Last June, Facebook launched its face-recognition technology. This allows the scanning of all photos found in its database and attaching it to the user’s name. It then spreads all over the network, matching the user’s entire picture library to this tag, thereby associating him or her with friends. If the user used his or her real name as required, that person has no way of hiding his or her identity.

The police could identify unknown criminals by using the same technology described in the foregoing paragraph. Once they post the image of an unidentified suspect on Facebook, the automatic tag will instantly identify him or her. However, Facebook received a public outcry because of the privacy concerns of its users. As a result, it decided to give users the choice to opt out of this system instead of “forcing” it on all of them.

These days, businesses cannot just shrug their shoulders if their customers’ email addresses are stolen or lost. They may have the legal obligation to immediately notify their customers about the data breach. The recent turn of events in the privacy arena serves as a wake-up call to businesses and CIOs.

There have been major changes in the way businesses are held responsible for the protection of personal information. Public disclosure of data breaches is taking a wider range so fast that it seems difficult for many businesses to cope with. They act as one in posing the question about which kind of data legally requires public disclosure.

It used to be that businesses and CIOs only concerned themselves with “personally identifiable information”. This means that if a company did not collect information that can identify or be traced back to a person, it has no obligation to disclose the loss of such data. But when a business collects data which includes bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, medical information and others, it has the obligation to inform the individuals of any data breach.

The recent discovery of the use of “supercookies” has prompted MSN to reconsider its use of this tracking tool. The company announced that it has stopped its secret tracking of users’ browsing behavior. Microsoft’s Associate General Counsel disclosed that without delay, the company investigated the code after researchers brought the concern to its attention.

It could be recalled that about a month ago, researchers at Stanford University identified a “supercookie” that is able to resurrect users’ cookies even after these were deleted. This means that the cookies persist even after a user intentionally deletes them. Without their knowledge, users’ browsing habits can still be monitored. They believe that everything is “safe” because the cookies were deleted, but that is not the case.

MSN responded quickly to the users’ protests by stopping the code. To remedy the situation, the company extended its efforts to giving reassurance to users about the company’s commitment to upholding their privacy. It clarified to the public that whatever users’ information was assembled by using the code was never shared with other companies or organizations.

Today, most middle and high schools provide some amount of internet access to students in order to enhance their learning. To make certain that children are well guided, each school provides an Internet Acceptable Use Policy. Usually at the beginning of each school year, parents and students are required to sign this document. It lays down and defines the school’s guidelines on internet use. It also gives the details of the rules regarding online behavior and the equivalent consequences of disobedience.

There are some schools that include in here the rights of staff members and students in using the school’s internet facilities. As a whole, all Acceptable Use Policies identify the rights of students to benefit from technology and protect them from harm. To reinforce its implementation, parents need to play a vital part. They should update themselves about what their children are studying in school and how they are going to use the internet. More significantly, they should realize that children are using the internet in a safe manner.

At home, parents should talk about the guidelines with their children. At their age, students might not fully understand the significance of those policies. Parents should particularly clarify those activities that might seem safe but are actually not allowed. What is the school’s policy regarding email use? What does harassment actually mean? Are students allowed to visit file-sharing sites or to download music? What consequences are there for cyber-bullying using the school’s computers? They should evaluate how their children usually use the internet at home and compare this to the things that are banned at school.

Parents of children who have access to the internet should not only look at the downside of it. The internet has many good sides and, when used properly, it can help their children achieve improvement in school work. In fact, schools are encouraged to use this technology to enhance learning in many ways. That is why it is not rational for parents to speak ill of the internet without considering the benefits that it can give to their children.

Maybe what parents need to do is to involve themselves in the internet activities of their children. There are some basic recommendations that parents can try on their own. The most important is to learn more about the internet, or better yet, learn about it from their children. This can be an opportunity for bonding, especially with teenagers, who are starting to seek independence from parental control. A parent’s sincere goal to learn from his or her child is a boost to the child’s self esteem.

These experiences, when routinely repeated, will build trust. Parents can then wait for the right signal so that they can be ready to talk about internet safety rules. The right time would depend much on the age of the child. It is obvious that parents should know when this could come about, as with other areas where they set parental control. They only have to be careful that the trust built between them and their children is neither broken nor compromised.

It is important to synchronize online safety rules at home and at school. Children need to feel that rules in school strengthen or complete those at home. This is essential because nowadays, schools are taking a more active role in the enforcement of rules regarding online activities. Before children enter school, parents should have prepared them for their new situation.

Children who are exposed to following internet rules at home will find it easy to obey those of the school. It is best for parents to set up policies of their own at home so that children do not feel uncomfortable or intimidated. Of course, different schools have different internet rules, but giving children the “feel of it” will help them to become more compliant.

As a general observation, schools would revise their policies for several reasons. They do so because of the reactions of parents, which could range from rules being too lax or too limiting. Another reason could be the general conduct of children in a particular school. This is greatly dictated by the socio-economic conditions of the families to which these children belong. To keep with it, schools have to go by the generally accepted standards of online behavior. It cannot be denied that some schools sould lay down internet rules that are non-negotiable and are never compromised.

Middle and high school authorities are alarmed at the worsening behavioral problems of a number of children. It is believed that some of these are manifestations of how these children behave online. School officials are seeking help from experts who can handle the problem. They see that it cannot be solved by the school alone, but must be a collaborative effort of the home and the school where parents play a crucial role. For this reason, many schools are in partnership with private organizations who can teach parents about internet safety and media literacy.

There is a realization among schools that what used to be confined to online behavior among children is no longer true. The truth is there is no longer a difference between how they behave online and offline. For example, when one student harasses another student online, the consequences will surely extend offline and most probably this will occur on the school campus. This then becomes the problem of the school administration. However, this kind of problem could have been prevented if parents carried out their obligations. Children should get their first education on internet literacy and safety from their parents. Unfortunately, this is not happening in many homes today.

Parents seem to be uneducated when comes to the risks and dangers of the internet when it comes to their children. Many of them do not set internet rules and, if they do, these rules are not realistic and consistent. There are some who would throw the burden to teachers. The usual reason why they do this is that they do not know the technology. Many parents feel it is enough just to know that their children are using Facebook, but they do not know how their children use it. This is one of the roots of the problems that schools encounter today.

When users discovered the joy of social networking, they did not waste a second uploading their personal data just to open an account. Then, they invited their friends to do the same so that they would make a big circle of online friends. Likewise, “friends” of their “friends” now repeat all that the others did. As soon as they have an account, they create their personal profiles by adding even more information. On top of this, they then share photos of all sorts. Millions of other users, composed of all ages, replicate the same process. For 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, huge amounts of information is uploaded and shared online.

Then, privacy concerns due to data breaches started to upset their enjoyment. It started as a small issue, but more users’ privacy violations prompted privacy advocates to do something. They asked the government to update existing privacy laws. They also urged internet companies to disclose their privacy policies. Until now, debates regarding government control and privacy violations are still going on. Updated privacy laws are still in question, and their implementation is still pending. Private companies update their privacy policies, but there is a need for these to be in pace with the nature of privacy problems.

Users are becoming more concerned about the presence of their data on the internet and how this will be used. Once, they were very excited to upload their data, but now, they cannot wait to delete it. They are sure that one day, the data will be used to their disadvantage. Users discovered that there is already too much information about them on the internet. Third parties can use this data for many different purposes that users do not know about.