We have always collected data; it is necessary to make determinations, decisions, and to have facts.

At election times, there are always polls taken to determine what people like best and who they may vote for. Polls are a collection of data.

Before computers, data was collected manually by paper and pencil and tabulated. With the advent of computers, it was easier and faster to feed information (data) into software programs and obtain reports. Examples of reports could be the financial status of a company each week, each month, and each year. Your personal situation may consist of your monthly payments for electric, heating, air conditioning, mortgage, credit cards, food, clothing, and miscellaneous items. Data could be the different types of foods you purchase such as fresh vegetables, dairy products, and meat.

All of those items listed are important to businesses and our daily lives. What about the data being collected by Facebook, Twitter, your mortgage company, online shopping, Amazon, and any other entity whose services you use?

Each one has a privacy policy. Do you read these policies before you sign up for something? You may try but then get lost in the many pages. I may an attempt but being in a hurry, I say – “Yes, I agree.” After all, it does state: Privacy Policy. They must be honest. Yes, it is legally worded but it can be boring to read the long documents.

We each have lots of data and we need to start thinking about how and when all this is used. You view a product online and then do you notice that product will appear in an ad on your screen. I give my email to a company that will notify me when my order will be delivered. Then I begin receiving emails from other companies I have never heard of and I wonder why.

It is because I did not read the fine print and someone was not denied permission to sell my data to other companies. Your data can consist of your name, age, gender, address, phone number, email address, family members, type of vehicle, credit card, and any other data you list somewhere. It becomes more serious when your internet access is not secure. Hackers can capture your data for banking, social security, passwords, and IDs, ultimately stealing your identity.

We think about mobile phone data as something that is included with the phone plan we purchase. In some instances, the government is able and allowed to listen to your mobile phone calls, read emails and messages, view files and pictures. This is more of your personal data.

I recently read an article published by Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom on April 19th, 2023, that stated their belief that the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) is in violation of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. What a shock!

HIPAA provides confidentiality of patient data. It also requires people and corporations to prove the security of this data. The paper you sign in the medical setting is acknowledgement of the Notice of Privacy Practices. However, many people don’t fully understand how confidential their information is and how it can be disclosed to other third parties.

Do we really have any data privacy anymore?