A website I read every once-in-awhile asked if it was okay to Google someone they were thinking about dating. In turn, the question got me to thinking about the bigger question I've talked about here before. Namely, privacy and the Internet. Below is, in large part, my response to the question.
There is a lot of information that is considered to be in the public domain. For instance, vital records such as births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and bankruptcies are routinely reported on in the newspapers. But when this information is compiled into a database, as it is when a search engine comes across it, creates troubling new questions:
1. Is it moral/ethical to do an Internet background check on someone regardless of why you are doing it?
2. What expectation(s) of privacy do we have relating to public information on the Internet?
3. Does the Internet bring both unprecedented access to information and, at the same time, presents new challenges to individual privacy?
As with any tool, the Internet can be used for many purposes. I know when I first got on the Internet I searched on my name and found at least two others (one in Canada and one, I'm not sure where, but he seemed to be associated with stocks/bonds/securities/banking so maybe New York?). I did this without any purpose other than pure curiosity.
But as I got more familiar with the Internet, I became concerned that maybe there was a little too much information out there in forms that made it easy for anyone to lookup. For instance, many states allow companies to put their entire phonebook listing up on the 'net. This is fine as long as you have an unlisted number, but not so fine if you don't and you start getting calls from tele-marketers. In fact, you can type in a phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx and if Google finds a match, will display the name, address, and link to Yahoo! Maps or MapQuest to show a map of exactly where you live.
A second example, when you register an Internet domain, you have to fill out a form that asks for your contact information such as name, address, and phone number. All of this is available on the Internet. Is this a Good Thing?
So, I began to try to limit the information that I had control over. First, no listing in the phonebook. And secondly, I changed the contact information for the domain registration for my website to a PO Box and fictitious phone number.
I realize I may be a little paranoid about this, but it is truly amazing that public information, in printed form, that we didn't give a thought about now becomes a whole different subject when it becomes available on the Internet.
I'll let you decide what public/personal information you feel comfortable with on the Internet and how it may be used but, as for me, it just gives me the creeps.
Aloha!
