Don’t you hate it when people stand behind your back and look over your shoulder when you are reading a magazine or looking at something online? Starting this year Californians no longer have to worry about somebody watching them.
The California Reader Privacy Act officially became a law on Jan. 1 which protects readers from the government or third parties trying to access their records.
Now people can feel safe browsing shelves at the local bookstore as well as eBooks without anybody else knowing their preferences and reading habits.
Guys who enjoy reading the “Twilight” saga (yes, those really do exist) finally do not have to read late at night with a flashlight under the blanket anymore.
No one has a right to find out what you’ve downloaded on your electronic book (unless you’re playing “Truth or Dare”) and hold it against you.
This law sounds like a relief for book-reading audiences, and might be even taking but this law is still in its infancy. People can freely browse the web on their Kindle but if they are doing it on the iPad or laptop the story is much different. The California Reader Privacy law protects browsing just paper and electronic books while leaving all the other Internet using devices aside.
Reading and browsing history can sometimes give out even more personal information than text threads or Facebook messages. One look at that history and you know everything about the person starting from his or her hobbies, cultural choices, political and religious beliefs to health concerns and emotional insecurities. Online life needs just as much privacy as the real one. It is not OK to watch through the window what your neighbors are doing 24/7, why would it be OK for them to access our Internet history?
Moreover, if the law protected our online records, maybe we would finally get a chance to go online and buy a book without having to clean our junk e-mail folder every day.
Everyone finds it annoying when after visiting a web site, advertisers do not want to leave you alone. They send promotions and other useless information that can’t be easily dismissed.
Technological progress should not mean the regression of privacy. It is good to know that it is officially no one else’s business what book I’ve checked out of the library.
Though this is a step in the right direction, it is still not enough for the population to feel fully protected. The Internet plays a key role in everyday life and people deserve to have their privacy respected.