Privacy?

Do I really have a right to privacy on the internet, and if so, then where?

This isn't the first time we've had this debate. When video surveillance cameras began to gain popularity this debate was front and center. Many people found this new technology to be an egregious breach of their right to privacy; the idea of being watched constantly, and that the video was being stored made people uncomfortable. But as the debate found it's way into the courts it was eventually decided that in a public space like Wal-mart, or a connivence store, there was no breach of privacy because there is reasonable expectation of privacy in such a public space.

The real, fundamental question is... what is the difference between the internet and the so called "real space," and where might I have a reasonable expectation of privacy online?

To answer that, let me first say that there seems to be a tendency among people to think of the internet as some kind of pseudo-real space; that is to say that using the internet is fundamentally different than walking down the street to go to wal-mart.  But is it really that different, and does the fact that I never left my house provide a reasonable expectation of privacy?  The truth is it's a complicated issue, and I think the argument could go either way, but in most cases we probably do not have an inherent right to privacy on the internet just because we're on the internet.  The reason we do not is because the internet is not a pseudo-real space, it's a very real space with addresses, property rights, and even physical space (even if it is located on hard drive).  Why is going to walmart.com different from going to the walmart down the street. Walmart certainly keeps detailed records about how many people come to their stores and what they buy, and even who buys what; that type of information is immensely valuable to marketers, and is the reason that the whole data mining phenomena exists. I would say that just as walmart has the right to video tape you and to store information about your behavior in their "real space" stores, so do they also have the right to record and store information about you (or in this case your computer) and your behavior in their online space as well. 

But collecting the information isn't the only thing happening, some companies also sell our information.  In regards to this we may have a reason to expect privacy regardless of whether that information was gathered online or in "real space."

People need to adjust their perception of the internet, and cyberspace in general. The idea that i have a right to privacy just because my physical person never left the house (a place where you certainly do have a reasonable expectation of privacy) is foolish one.  The internet is always a public space (because the internet is nothing but a system of INTERCONNECTED computers). Our online activities are no more private than our offline activities, they are just easier to track.