Developments in Information Technology in the past ten years have led to an explosion in the amount of information available, for those at least who have access to it.

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DEVELOPMENTS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE PAST TEN YEARS HAVE LED TO AN EXPLOSION IN THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE, FOR THOSE AT LEAST WHO HAVE ACCESS TO IT.

The objective of this essay is to discuss the pace of change in relation to the advantages and disadvantages of the increasing availability of information via the Internet.  In addition, the inequality of access will be discussed together with the impact on societies.

The Pace of Change

For those who have access to the wealth of information available from the Internet it is becoming easier to obtain personal information.  For example, in an article by Andrew L Shapiro (1997) entitled "Privacy for Sale: Peddling Data on the Internet", he reports how easy it was for him to discover and collate various personnel data relating to an individual.  He found information such as a Social Security Number, home address and telephone numbers, all within ten minutes and completely free.  He continues that with further investigation and a small fee, he could probably have obtained details such as credit history, financial records or confidential medical information.

Shapiro (1997) also reports that all information of this kind was once only collected, stored and collated by governments, as it was too expensive a task for others to undertake.  However, the digital technology now available has permitted the emergence of a major industry of dealers of personal data, mostly for marketing purposes.  He further states that Privacy experts in America have estimated that an average American is included in at least twenty-five databases and possibly up to one hundred databases, all without the knowledge or consent of the observed.

However, Stair and Reynolds (2001) state that companies take the matter of crime prevention seriously and those efforts by many businesses include the adoption of procedures, including the introduction of specialised hardware and software, to help prevent unauthorised use of data.

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John Naughton (2000) of the Observer reports on the recent British Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and how it will impact on society. He explains that this Act enables the Police and Security Services to intercept and monitor e-mail and Internet use, without any hindrance in relation to the Data Protection Act.

Some of the issues of this Act he explores further.  Every United Kingdom's Internet Service Provider (ISP) are required to install technology that will be able to monitor traffic through computer use and then they are required to pass the information to the GTAC, the ...

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