Invasion of Personal Privacy

Today's computers are powerful enough to store massive databases containing information identifying an individual's purchasing habits, personal credit history, Internet browsing patterns, identifying information (such as social security number, address, and phone number), and more. Our legal system has been slow to catch up with the technological changes, providing opportunities for invasion of individual privacy and abuse of personal information. Not only can corporations abuse such information by misusing it or selling it indiscriminately, but such large collections of centralized personal data also provide openings for criminal activity. The daily news regularly carries stories of stolen credit card numbers, or even stolen identities. Computer hackers break into large corporate databases containing customer profiles, making off with enough information to electronically impersonate the victim, causing financial and personal havoc.

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These pages were written by Glenn Remelts. and edited by Jeffrey L. Nyhoff and Nancy Zylstra
©2005 Calvin University (formerly Calvin College), All Rights Reserved

If you encounter technical errors, contact computing@calvin.edu.