Reply to all 250 word 1) Should we control access to search query histories? Hello everyone, It looks like our warm weather was short-lived. 1) Does it surpris

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Should we control access to search query histories?

Hello everyone,

It looks like our warm weather was short-lived.

1) Does it surprise you that a researcher could determine so much specific information about someone using only their search queries?
It does not surprise me that they could determine that amount of information from the search queries. Once they found one little piece of the puzzle, the rest was easy to find. Have you ever googled yourself? If you have not, it can scare you the amount of information that you can find just from a couple of clicks.

2) What role should government play, if any, in regulating access to this information?
I do think there should be a little control over the amount of information that businesses and organizations can share about you. However, we also need to learn to be responsible for the information that we put out there. I do feel that we need to find a way to catch individuals who are exploiting these individuals. Clickbait is one which information can be obtained from.

3) Businesses are going to resist any effort to control access to this data as they use it to market products and services to consumers.  How do you feel about this practice?
I know that if I was a business owner I would not want someone to tell me what I could and could not do. However, I would want to protect my consumer’s information. As a business owner, you should be doing what you can to market your business without comprising your information.

While the internet is a great place for information when we are looking for it, it is also great for people looking for your information. This is especially true when you use unsecured networks and computers for personal information. “Your search history contains some of the most personal information you will ever reveal online: your health, mental state, interests, travel locations, fears, and shopping habits (Wood, 2014).” When you access this type of information on networks and computers that are not secure then you are putting yourself at a greater risk for a hacker to gain this information. Once they have a small fraction of the information they can access so much of your information. The websites you visit allow tracking of your movements throughout the internet. “Unfortunately, your web searches are carefully tracked and saved in databases, where the information can be used for almost anything, including highly targeted advertising and price discrimination based on your data profile (Wood, 2014).” This is why it is important to make sure you know and are comfortable with the websites you are visiting. Some websites want you to enter a lot of personal information. This information is stored in their databases. Like the example from our textbook, even if they put numbe