Ronni’s Points to Ponder

Privacy has been a growing concern among online users. The Supreme Court has ruled on various privacy issues throughout the years. The digital era brings a new wave of cases that challenge the use of intelligence-gathering by online companies such as Facebook.

Online users occasionally visit websites that require acknowledgement of the website’s use of cookies to track users’ activities. Some websites don’t allow you to view the site until users accept the cookies policy.

Should companies have the right to prohibit the use of their site if the user opts to protect his or her privacy?

The New York Times recently published a series of articles about Facebook’s loose oversight of the way its data-sharing partners used the personal information obtained from millions of Facebook members. According to the letter Facebook submitted to Senator Ron Wyden in response to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s interrogation on Sept. 5, the company indicated that its privacy controls were “operating with sufficient effectiveness to provide reasonable assurance to protect the privacy of covered information…”

Although the U.S. Constitution does not currently address rights to privacy directly, should companies have the right to sell private information without the express consent of internet users? Tell us what you think on Facebook.