PROTECTING ONLINE PRIVACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Introduction
Online privacy is the state of one being free from another party watching one’s actions on the Internet. This watching takes the form of trackers on websites or cyber-attacks, such as malware and phishing. On average, Americans spend ___ hours each day online [looking for credible data]. Yet, according to study by Pew Research Center, 72% of U.S. adults think that all or most of what they do online is being tracked by companies.1 Many people (especially older generations) do not know how this technology works, and therefore do not know how to protect themselves from attacks and tracking. It is up to the federal government to consider enacting a law like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation in order to secure online freedom for all Americans.
In October 2019, California set a precedent for online privacy in the U.S. Amendments were added to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) to regulate the collection, management, and selling of data by entities interacting with California residents. Since many companies doing business in California also do business nationally, this law increased protection for residents of all states, not just California. However, this law is not as strong as it could be. In comparison to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came before the CCPA, the CCPA falls short in terms of scope and active enforcement. The GDPR requires the appointment of a data protection officer and imposes fines to violating companies, while the CCPA simply gives citizens the power to sue companies if they want to.2 The CCPA approach is not as effective since many people are not well-versed enough in data privacy to spot privacy breaches. America needs a federal law that follows the direct action modeled by the GDPR.
Works Cited
[Will cite properly later. 1’s and 2’s are superscript]
1 Americans’ views about privacy, surveillance and data-sharing | Pew Research Center
2 CCPA vs GDPR | Key differences in the legislation (gdpreu.org)
I think the title is good, as it is simple yet effective. It gives a clear idea about where the paper is going and what claims you will make. Also, the exigence is very clear as you explained how many Americans feel they are being tracked along with California Consumer Privacy Act. And the thesis is apparent as well and connected very well to the exigence. I know I’m supposed to give suggestions/critique, but I honestly think its really good as is so good job.
Your title is succinct and accurately describes the argument that you are setting up about creating policies that protect user privacy. You clearly relay the exigence for this policy by talking about how much time people spend on the internet and how 72% of people feel like their data is being tracked by corporations (good use of statistics to do this!). Not only does your thesis have an argumentative claim, you also gave an example of a policy that did something similar. This made the thesis a lot stronger by giving a tangible example to show that the policy you are advocating for is a viable solution to the exigence.