The Noble Lie

Here are a few stories that should give everybody a reason to stop and think about where they go and what they have online.

Wired magazine covers the story of a graduate student, with a handful of FOIA requests, trying to figure out exactly how much money the big media and internet companies make tracking us for government. Some companies were not shy about sharing this information, and some were outraged. Yahoo refused to share any such information, saying it would be used to "shock" customers. No need to be coy Yahoo, and certainly no need for a warrant, in this day and age we surrender our personal information freely to social networks. It's only tax money from the people you're spying on, anyway.

Speaking of social networks, law enforcement is finally warming up and getting wily in their use of these treasure troves of personal information. Recently, a university student was busted for underage drinking after becoming "friends" on Facebook with "a good looking girl" he didn't recognize. The "good looking girl" turned out to be the police department, who snapped up the drunken photos from his profile.

It isn't only your Facebook friends who have access to your data. Most of the activity on Facebook comes from people using Facebook Apps to take quizzes, give virtual gifts to each other, and play online games. The entire Facebook Apps ecosystem is a minefield of rampant information oversharing and dubious scams posing as games.

In spite of all this, there are those who believe Facebook should be your official internet ID and single univeral login to the web.

You have a right to your privacy. Please be aware of what you put online and who is looking at it.