iSpies- The Wall Street Journal

The real danger is the gradual erosion of individual liberties through automation, integration, and interconnection of many small, separate record-keeping systems, each of which alone may seem innocuous, even benevolent, and wholly justifiable.

-Anon., U. S. Privacy Study Commission, 1977

We live in a digital age where it is easier than ever to stay connected with your friends and the world as a whole. Most people use this for good or harmless things; talking with friends, buying online, etc. The problem is that this connection can be used harmfully. Companies are now tracking what you do online and store that information. The worst part, though, is that they are selling the information. They sell this information in bulk at outrageously low prices (less than a penny a person) to whoever wants to buy it. The buyers then study this information to try to figure out what exactly people are looking up and are interested in. They then use this to figure out who to target with what ads. Now, if this was the only use of this technology it wouldn't be so bad. If I have to see ads I would at least like to see them for things I actually like or would be interested in buying. The problem I have with this practice is that this information can be used for anything. This is a bunch of companies spying on you and seeing everything you do online. While the internet age has brought a lot of incredible advances to everyday life it has also brought many dangers. One of the main ones is loss of privacy. We have been told that we need to be careful about what exactly we put online as whatever we put is there forever for anyone to see. If that is true and we need to always be careful of our privacy while online, then why is it okay for these companies to be tracking us like wild game and monitoring our every move? This is something that can be used for good but could just as easily be used for evil. I don't like taking that chance.