Communications and personal information that are posted online are usually accessible to a vast number of people. Yet when personal data exist online, they may be searched, reproduced and mined by advertisers, merchants, service providers or even stalkers. Many users know what may happen to their information, while at the same time they act as though their data are private or intimate. They expect their privacy will not be infringed while they willingly share personal information with the world via social network sites, blogs, and in online communities. The chapters collected by Trepte and Reinecke address questions arising from this disparity that has often been referred to as the privacy paradox. Works by renowned researchers from various disciplines including psychology, communication, sociology, and information science, offer new theoretical models on the functioning of online intimacy and public accessibility, and propose novel ideas on the how and why of online privacy. The contributing authors offer intriguing solutions for some of the most pressing issues and problems in the field of online privacy. They investigate how users abandon privacy to enhance social capital and to generate different kinds of benefits. They argue that trust and authenticity characterize the uses of social network sites. They explore how privacy needs affect users’ virtual identities. Ethical issues of privacy online are discussed as well as its gratifications and users’ concerns. The contributors of this volume focus on the privacy needs and behaviors of a variety of different groups of social media users such as young adults, older users, and genders. They also examine privacy in the context of particular online services such as social network sites, mobile internet access, online journalism, blogs, and micro-blogs. In sum, this book offers researchers and students working on issues related to internet communication not only a thorough and up-to-date treatment of online privacy and the social web. It also presents a glimpse of the future by exploring emergent issues concerning new technological applications and by suggesting theory-based research agendas that can guide inquiry beyond the current forms of social technologies.

People research everything online – shopping, school, jobs, travel – and other people. Your online persona is your new front door. It is likely the first thing that new friends and colleagues learn about you. In the years since this book was first published, the Internet profile and reputation have grown more important in the vital human activities of work, school and relationships. This updated edition explores the various ways that people may use your Internet identity, including the ways bad guys can bully, stalk or steal from you aided by the information they find about you online. The authors look into the Edward Snowden revelations and the government’s voracious appetite for personal data. A new chapter on the right to be forgotten explores the origins and current effects of this new legal concept, and shows how the new right could affect us all. Timely information helping to protect your children on the Internet and guarding your business’s online reputation has also been added. The state of Internet anonymity has been exposed to scrutiny lately, and the authors explore how anonymous you can really choose to be when conducting activity on the web. The growth of social networks is also addressed as a way to project your best image and to protect yourself from embarrassing statements. Building on the first book, this new edition has everything you need to know to protect yourself, your family, and your reputation online.

Privacy is a growing concern in the United States and around the world. The spread of the Internet and the seemingly boundaryless options for collecting, saving, sharing, and comparing information trigger consumer worries. Online practices of business and government agencies may present new ways to compromise privacy, and e-commerce and technologies that make a wide range of personal information available to anyone with a Web browser only begin to hint at the possibilities for inappropriate or unwarranted intrusion into our personal lives. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age presents a comprehensive and multidisciplinary examination of privacy in the information age. It explores such important concepts as how the threats to privacy evolving, how can privacy be protected and how society can balance the interests of individuals, businesses and government in ways that promote privacy reasonably and effectively? This book seeks to raise awareness of the web of connectedness among the actions one takes and the privacy policies that are enacted, and provides a variety of tools and concepts with which debates over privacy can be more fruitfully engaged. Engaging Privacy and Information Technology in a Digital Age focuses on three major components affecting notions, perceptions, and expectations of privacy: technological change, societal shifts, and circumstantial discontinuities. This book will be of special interest to anyone interested in understanding why privacy issues are often so intractable.

Internet Privacy Rights analyses the current threats to our online autonomy and privacy and proposes a new model for the gathering, retention and use of personal data. Key to the model is the development of specific privacy rights: a right to roam the internet with privacy, a right to monitor the monitors, a right to delete personal data and a right to create, assert and protect an online identity. These rights could help in the formulation of more effective and appropriate legislation, and shape more privacy-friendly business models. The conclusion examines how the internet might look with these rights in place and whether such an internet could be sustainable from both a governmental and a business perspective.

The collection of personal information on the Internet has been the focus of considerable public debate, litigation and legislation. This controversial area of law has not been explored in an in-depth, comprehensive mannerOCountil now. Filled with scholarly analysis and pragmatic guidance, Internet and Online Privacy: A Legal and Business Guide addresses the state of the law of online and Internet privacy and its historical origins. It examines enforcement activity by the Federal Trade Commission, federal and state legislation and regulation, the U.S.-European Commission Safe Harbor Agreement, as well as some of the leading lawsuits in which claims of invasion of privacy on the Internet have been asserted. The book also compares U.S. law with approaches taken by our principal trading partners around the world. Readers will appreciate the authors' helpful practical adviceon such matters as: how to draft a privacy policy to suit your company's needs; how to address privacy issues that are likely to arise in the workplace; and how technology can help you deal with these issues. Internet and Online Privacy: A Legal and Business Guide will be an invaluable reference for anyone trying to understand the law governing online privacy and companies' use of personal data."

The Internet of Things (IoT) can be defined as any network of things capable of generating, storing and exchanging data, and in some cases acting on it. This new form of seamless connectivity has many applications: smart cities, smart grids for energy management, intelligent transport, environmental monitoring, healthcare systems, etc. and EU policymakers were quick to realize that machine-to-machine communication and the IoT were going to be vital to economic development. It was also clear that the security of such systems would be of paramount importance and, following the European Commission’s Cybersecurity Strategy of the European Union in 2013, the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme was set up to explore available options and possible approaches to addressing the security and privacy issues of the IoT. This book presents 10 papers which have emerged from the research of the Horizon 2020 and CHIST-ERA programmes, and which address a wide cross-section of projects ranging from the secure management of personal data and the specific challenges of the IoT with respect to the GDPR, through access control within a highly dynamic IoT environment and increasing trust with distributed ledger technologies, to new cryptographic approaches as a counter-measure for side-channel attacks and the vulnerabilities of IoT-based ambient assisted living systems. The security and safety of the Internet of Things will remain high on the agenda of policymakers for the foreseeable future, and this book provides an overview for all those with an interest in the field.

During recent years, a continuously increasing amount of personal data has been made available through different websites around the world. Although the availability of personal information has created several advantages, it can be easily misused and may lead to violations of privacy. With growing interest in this area, Digital Privacy: Theory, Technologies, and Practices addresses this timely issue, providing information on state-of-the-art technologies, best practices, and research results, as well as legal, regulatory, and ethical issues. This book features contributions from experts in academia, industry, and government.

Analysing the legal issues concerning online and Internet privacy, this book covers the historical developments leading to the current state of the law and the relevant legal actions that have helped to shape it. Examined are the leading lawsuits that have asserted invasion of privacy on the Internet, the comparison of the state of the law in the United States with that of its principal trading partners around the world, and enforcement activity by the Federal Trade Commission. Also covered are proposals for new legislation and precedents for drafting a privacy policy that conforms to standards required by United States and international law.

Today, whether it’s banks, governments, schools, or businesses, they all store data digitally. Keeping our personal details off the internet is nearly impossible. While it’s difficult to avoid having some personal information online, readers can take steps to secure it from prying eyes. This guide provides common-sense tips about how to avoid online theft and the mining of data by advertisers and others. In easy-to-follow steps, readers will also learn how to safeguard their computers and other digital devices. With this guide, readers can keep their private info private.

An accessible, comic book-like, illustrated introduction to how the internet works under the hood, designed to give people a basic understanding of the technical aspects of the Internet that they need in order to advocate for digital rights. The internet has profoundly changed interpersonal communication, but most of us don't really understand how it works. What enables information to travel across the internet? Can we really be anonymous and private online? Who controls the internet, and why is that important? And... what's with all the cats? How the Internet Really Works answers these questions and more. Using clear language and whimsical illustrations, the authors translate highly technical topics into accessible, engaging prose that demystifies the world's most intricately linked computer network. Alongside a feline guide named Catnip, you'll learn about: • The "How-What-Why" of nodes, packets, and internet protocols • Cryptographic techniques to ensure the secrecy and integrity of your data • Censorship, ways to monitor it, and means for circumventing it • Cybernetics, algorithms, and how computers make decisions • Centralization of internet power, its impact on democracy, and how it hurts human rights • Internet governance, and ways to get involved This book is also a call to action, laying out a roadmap for using your newfound knowledge to influence the evolution of digitally inclusive, rights-respecting internet laws and policies. Whether you're a citizen concerned about staying safe online, a civil servant seeking to address censorship, an advocate addressing worldwide freedom of expression issues, or simply someone with a cat-like curiosity about network infrastructure, you will be delighted -- and enlightened -- by Catnip's felicitously fun guide to understanding how the internet really works!