Have You Taken Professional Responsibility For Your Online Privacy?

"The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life."

-Brian Tracy

Every day in the privacy world there is breaking news. From new legislation being introduced to new scams being exposed to data security breaches being announced, we are immersed in a world that I envisioned when I started Privacy Solutions 10 years ago: a world in which privacy matters to everyone.

Over the years I have made numerous trips to Capitol Hill to educate our elected representatives on all things privacy like social security number protection and safeguarding the lifeblood of business: the free flow of data. Now there is a new Senate Judiciary Subcommittee for Privacy, Technology and the Law, which will oversee laws and policies governing the collection, protection, use and dissemination of commercial information by the private sector. It is news like this makes me feel like all of my hard work is paying off now.

The bottom line for consumers as well as businesses is the same as it ever was- privacy is situational. We are all just more aware of it than we were a decade ago. What we are more concerned about now than before is the amount of control we have over our information and its security. We want to know that our personally identifiable information is safe and that it cannot be used against us out of context.

The number one way to make sure your information is protected is to be selective in what you reveal. By now everyone ought to know that anything that is on the Internet, including email, is not private. It can be dredged up at any future point. You probably also know what expectation of privacy you have in your workplace (most likely none). Check your employee handbook to confirm the policies. If there is no policy there, be sure to inquire.

No matter how much business self-regulation and government legislation we end up with in this flurry of proposed privacy compliance solutions, privacy is ultimately up to you. It is much better if your business takes responsibility for doing the right things as far as website policies and disclaimers and information security. As a person, it is up to you to take responsibility for what you reveal, to whom and on what media. Don’t just expect 'them' to take care of everything- be proactive. If you have an opinion on how these privacy discussions should turn out, join the conversation. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to have our voices heard and become a part of an active democracy. The only way you lose is by not taking personal and professional responsibility for your privacy.

Editors Note: Darity represented RE Technology in drafting our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use to insure that our customers' privacy is protected and never exposed to any third party.