Identity Portability and the War on Privacy

Friday, 05. 8. 2009  –  Category: Enversa Companies

Internet users have a hard job. Sure, surfing the net might seem easy, but every time you visit a new site, there’s another effort to keep it password protected forcing web users to create usernames and passwords unique to each site. Websites are asking you to have a different password for each site you visit.  Make sure to keep those passwords straight so you don’t get them mixed up and inevitably end up getting locked out after three attempts of putting in the wrong login/password. Most web users just use one password to keep it all simple, and in most cases, it’s an easy to guess family member or favorite car or pet. Internet security experts warn against this though, since it’s the easiest way for hackers and identity thieves to steal all of your information off one site and use it on multiple locations.

So what’s a web surfer to do? The simplest solution seems to be a portable ID, one that would allow one user to access any site with a single username and password. A portable ID eliminates the need to memorize or document all those different passwords, and with encryption software could keep the ID safe.

Yet privacy advocates warn that the use of a portable ID opens up surfing habits to advertisers, the government or anyone with a large enough bank account, and allows the user to be tracked across the internet. The argument is a portable ID eliminates the anonymity of the net user since it’s tied directly to one person. However, privacy advocates seem to overlook the fact that every visit to the internet is already documented through ISP addresses. There is nothing that can’t be traced, at least for the vast majority of common users, so arguing that privacy is the issue seems a misdirection at best. Advertisers are gathering vast amounts of data through cookies and sophisticated algorithms that collect, measure and analyze each click on the site. Anyone concerned about privacy on the internet should understand the extent that their actions are being tracked online and by whom.

The pros of a portable ID outweigh the negative aspects, and could possibly create a cottage industry in encryption software and identity protection. There is some comfort in the fact that over ninety million people use the internet, and efforts by hackers to single out individuals to steal identities is difficult. Add to that the fact that the majority of internet activity goes ignored by anyone except advertisers searching for new ways to create highly targeted advertising and increase conversion rates of the advertising. Portable IDs may open up the user’s information to advertisers, but that may not be such a bad thing. Why would an internet surfer want to be exposed to ads that hold no interest for them when they could see products they actually care about and can use? This would save advertisers money, but more importantly, would save the web surfer time and energy. And since the internet is supposed to make communication instantaneous, why wouldn’t internet users, including advertisers, want instant targeted advertising? ID portability would make the internet easier to navigate, and the sacrifice in privacy would be limited.

Marc Pickren is the President of Enversa- a performance-based marketing agency.

Tags: advertisers, article, identification, Marc Pickren, online, privacy, websites