The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not SVB Financial Group.
We're feeling a
little chagrined to admit that the Wall Street Journal exposé of Internet
snooping caught us by surprise. The study, entitled "The Web's New Gold Mine:
Your Secrets," published this weekend found that assorted Internet
traffic-analyst companies and other interested parties routinely store thousands
of tracking files on the computers that access certain Web sites. One that has
cured my pathological spelling disability, Dictionary.com, was the most prolific
in the study, planting 159 surreptitious agent files after only one visit. As
these tracking companies pick up information about my Web behavior they are able
to build a robust profile of me to sell to advertisers.
Although the
profile is technically anonymous, it would be child's play for any company to
discover where I live, work and bank using common software called "beacons" that
can track the details of what a user types. For example, I might seek direction
from my house using Google Maps or type other information into a news site that
requires a registration or membership to serve up a story. According to the
article, companies routinely use beacon-type spyware to capture data about
individual users.
I always knew that Internet companies I did business
with would keep track of our relationship. They do this to benefit me and in the
hope of selling me more stuff. Netflix would suggest movie titles for me if I
ever bothered to rate the ones that I've watched. This is no different from the
elaborate CRM systems maintained by analogue businesses. Some probably need to
update their software. Amazon still notifies me about the new collector's
edition of Good Night Moon, somehow missing the fact that the toddlers I
purchased books for in 1997 are now almost 16 and download new titles via their
Kindle. In truth, I don't have a problem with these types of relationships. What
concerns me here are the actions of companies I don't know. Actions that, if
asked, I never would have authorized.
I tried to come up with a real
world version of these peeping-Tom companies. Suppose there was a camera in my
bathroom tracking what toothpaste and shaving products I used and maybe another
camera in my fridge to follow my at-home eating habits? No reasonable person
would permit that type of intrusion — at least not without appropriate
compensation. Clearly, my fridge and my bathroom belong to me and to gain access
you need my permission. What about my computer? Who does that belong to? If
these firms have a legitimate reason to plant spyware on my computer, then they
shouldn't be embarrassed about asking my permission. With a modest monetary
nudge I might even agree to it.
If business is doing this spying, it is
no great leap to assume that governments and politicians are as well. It is hard
to imagine that the Internet-savvy politicians are not carefully tracking the
activities of members of the "Taxed Enough Already" movement or the famed
NetRoots Nation. This is similar, yet more advanced than, the traditional
political "opposition research." With today's modern technology, Nixon's White
House Plumbers would never have needed to leave the office. More worrying are
the potential actions by governments not constrained by a framework of laws like
our constitution. We can't help but wonder what consulting firm the Iranian
régime is using to snoop on Iranian dissidents at home and abroad.
Using
confidential information for commercial purposes without permission seems to me
a fundamental violation of trust. The only question that remains, we suppose, is
whether people will take steps to protect themselves and their privacy. Will
there be a government mandate to require authorization from computer owners
before commercial spyware can be attached to their systems? Assuming there is no
escape from this intrusive Telecosm, perhaps new products will be introduced to
dynamically cleanse the offending code or mask and distort the user's
activities. We had always puzzled over what was behind the Google tag line,
"Don't be evil." Now we know.
The views expressed in this column are solely
those of the author and do not reflect the views of SVB Financial Group,
or Silicon Valley Bank, or any of its affiliates. This material,
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