The Use of Cookies As It Relates To Privacy
Globally, internet users have been found to be using at least fifty-five hours online monthly. Most of these internet users spend most of their time in social networks, emails, games and instant messaging. With customers now demanding easier ways to access the internet, cloud computing has become an option for companies where software and other Internet services can be accessible and customizable for consumer’s use. Internet users will thus not need to worry about the lengthy time required to access what they need as the internet servers can readily provide this. Consumers do not need large storage spaces on their devices to store downloaded videos and materials but can access them on clouds . Cloud computing is not only limited to use in IT industry but in mainstream markets where consumers require new gaming solutions which are centered on the cloud. With the new possibilities in cloud computing, protecting the identity of consumers is a huge challenge. This is because this affects the confidentiality of internet users. Some of the global websites have been known to capture and misuse the information they gather from customers using computer cookies. This paper is an assessment of ethical issues around the usage of cookies in computing and how companies and individuals can maneuver around this trick area.
Computer cookies are typically a small file that consists of letters and numbers which act as identifiers in a website. Web servers hosting a website send a cookie and store it on the user’s device and this cookie tracks the browsing activity of the user. Lanois (2010) observed that cookies are a way of tracking and storing the user information on his device so that the website can retrieve and possibly maintain it whenever they connect to the site. They are mostly used by online advertising firms since they help gather information of interest about a user including their shopping habits and patterns and use it to display advertisements online targeted to a particular user. Cookies track and store the identity of a user including their age, favorite movies. This is especially done when an internet user fills a form. Cookies have a function in identifying users during server-based sessions and maintain login details including passwords on a user’s account.
Websites typically place cookies on user’s devices without asking for permission from the varied users, and this infringes the discretion of internet users. According to a study carried out by Wall Street Journal, on average, the world’s top websites place 64 pieces of cookies on customers without warning them . This information is compiled and associated with specific user profiles. On a few privacy-conscious consumers delete or prevent installation of cookies on their internet browsers settings. All other consumers are impacted in varied ways by internet spies who use cookies. The tracking technology has so far become more intrusive with new tools invented to track the location, medical conditions and income of internet users. Information from cookies can be used against the owners in a malicious way.
As it stands today, there are no laws that govern user’s privacy when using the internet. The usage of cookies on the web exposes consumers to personality larceny, and the information may be misused by the tracking company/agent. The security and the confidentiality of the user as they use the internet is put at risk, and normally the safety of customer’s credit cards, passwords, and online accounts is at stake. Customers are now becoming more sensitive to the data they store online in this novel dispensation of cloud computing. Other businesses go ahead to publish confidential information of their web customers against their will. Critics, however, argue that cookies only store information that internet users voluntarily provide and hence do not provide any real threat to the concealment of the users (Barnes, 2016). These critics only agree that real threat occurs when information gathered by cookies is accessed by external parties.
In this digital media age, scholars are still divided on what privacy means. Barnes, observes that privacy on in this age means the ability that folks possess in controlling the information they release to the outside world (Barnes, 2006). The debate is on what is considered as private or open information. To effectively deal with the impact of cookies have on individuals and business privacy; it is important that businesses comply with existing regulations within their jurisdictions that which guarantee the web user privacy when they are designing internet services. This includes the laws that govern the collection, processing, and distribution of tracked personal data through varied means. Internet merchants need to guarantee that any personal data collection process is fair and only relevant to the specific use which they have explicitly revealed to internet users.
The concerned businesses need to guarantee that appropriate security levels are maintained when users access their websites and internet servers. The collecting agent or businesses who wish to collect data from the users must ensure no personal data is transferred to third parties who may end up misusing the data. These businesses need to act with integrity by being honest and truthful in their business and professional relationships they have with the customers. They must not intentionally lie to customers regarding the usage of their data. This should also be translated on how diligently they handle internet users’ information with due care. The storage and usage of customer’s information needs to be guided by existing legal and professional code of ethics.
Internet users also need to take due diligence when using internet services. The information they release to the outside world must be ones; they voluntarily are willing to release than a forced one. They must disable cookies on their browsers whenever they are using internet browsers. They need to set privacy settings on their devices to determine what data businesses collect from their internet activities.
In conclusion, use of cookies by third persons usually poses more risks than cookies from business web servers. The usage of social media and cloud computing increases the capabilities of the web with huge chunks of data collected by the internet services providers. The fundamental question that internet users and businesses need to ask is whether they are building trust and acting ethically in dealing with one another. While businesses aim at increasing profits and customer satisfaction, internet users need to be treated ethically (Ferrell et al., 2013). This can possibly be done when they disclose their intentions when dealing with customers online.
References
Barnes, S. B. (2006). A privacy paradox: Social networking in the United States. First Monday, 11(9).
Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning,
Lanois, P. (2010). Caught in the Clouds:The Web 2.0, Cloud Computing, and Privacy? Northern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, 29-50.
