Internet Privacy... Or Lack Of

Funny, just as i was feeling like i wanted to talk about this subject i couldn't help but notice MySpace's disclaimer here:

Warning - Please be aware that MySpace is accessed by thousands of users every day; since you do not know every user on the MySpace site, excercise caution when posting personally identifiable information.

In light of recent events this warning could not be more important. I'm talking about the recent court ruling in favour of the TV corporation Viacom having access to all of YouTube's information regarding what EVERY user has viewed, and their IP addresses.

So basically if you have used YouTube to watch an illegally uploaded recording of a TV show or movie then they will know about it. Whether you will be prosecuted is highly unlikely (unless you were the one who uploaded it in the first place), but you may well find yourself, or your computer at least, on some sort of database of unlawful viewers.

The reality, as far as i can see, is that in this one case alone we dont have any real worry about anything on an individual level. What is of serious concern is the blatant abuse of our rights that is the result of this ruling. This is surely the first stage in what could well become a Big Brother situation whereby we have no privacy online. If our every virtual movement is logged and can be seen by anyone with the appropriate power (governments, corporations etc) then can we ever be truly free online?

I dread to think how many different databases have my details, think about forums, shops, mailing lists, even MySpace itself. So many organisations know my name, address, date of birth, answers to secret questions etc. The whole world potentially can find out my opinions on stuff just by reading these blogs or other forum posts. I've always been careful not to incriminate myself because every word i type into these sites could well form a permanent record of my life.

There are a lot of people oblivious to this though, social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are used as a means for people to record their life for anyone to see. We are told that we should be careful, after all there are all manner of undesirables online that prey on potential victims through sites like this. What we are not told is that these undesirables could very well include governments and corporations.

If this latest ruling is anything to go by, we could find that in the future our privacy online will become practically non-existent.

On a similar note there are more and more people being prosecuted or at the very least receiving warnings for filesharing. Without wanting to get into a discussion about the morality of filesharing, again i can only see that there is a point when the privacy of the individual becomes compromised, and for many it already has.

So what can we do? I'm sure, if there isn't already, there will be a number of online petitions against this ruling however "signing" one of these is just another case of putting yourself on a database. Lets not forget how anti-terrorism laws are being created all the time solely to deny the people the right to protest. By no means am i suggesting we should passively sit here in silence, i would encourage anyone who has a view on this subject to make it known. If there are petitions, make sure you know fully what you are signing.

Search Google for more information, after all this stems from a lawsuit AGAINST Google. Most importantly think before you type, especially on here and Facebook. There are a lot of good, honest people whose lives are not entirely legit, there are a great number of laws that are unfair and do not serve the public. The internet is built upon free speech, by no means should we let this ruling become a form of censorship, but we do need to be smart. Big business has become threatened by the shift in balance the internet has given the people. Money is all-powerful, but the world is changing, the music and film industries are changing. The outcome of these changes is, as yet, unknown but the corporations won't go down without a fight.

Maybe i have just incriminated myself with this blog, but i refuse to sit here in silence, i can however choose which words i use.