The Other Kind of Cookies

One of the ways websites keep and access our information online is through cookies. A website’s server puts cookies, a small text file, on a computer’s web browser that transmits information retained from web browser back to the website server. Cookies have unique identifiers associated with them and are used to acknowledge returning users, track purchases online, maintain a record of online searches, or maintain customized web pages. Information collected includes search queries, content viewed, users involvement in advertisement activities, and the time along with the length of visit. This collected information can be used by companies for behavioral advertising, which is discussed in a previous post Online Marketing. Google practices behavioral advertising by collecting private data, as described in the video below.

I have always been uneasy about having an automatic log in for most websites, just because I never know who might use my computer and have access to all my information.  Individual information like passwords or online shopping carts are examples of data can be retained by the use of cookies.  There are many different types of cookies. One type is a session cookie, which expire as a user exits the browser. Another kind is a persistent cookie that may remain for a specified duration of time on a user’s computer. In many cases information collected is typically not distinguishable of personal information (user’s name, physical address, etc). However, it  is likely to associate the collected information with personal information that was provided by consumer at the registration of a website. Other devices for tracking online user activities are flash cookies, web bugs and web beacons.

When speaking of the Office of management and Budget (OMB) President Barack Obama states that, “We built this budget around the idea that our country has always done best when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.” The OMB  that was issued on June 2000 addresses the use of cookies on Federal websites (GAO, Internet Privacy 1). When agencies use cookies they must:

1. Provide clear and obvious notification of their use
2. Have a compelling necessity to gather the data on the web site
3. Have appropriate and publicly disclosed privacy safeguards for managing information derived from cookies
4. Have personal authorization by the head of the agency

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d01424.pdf
http://ispot.tv/a/7dNe

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb
"What Is a Copyright Alert?" Center for Copyright Information What Is a Copyright Alert Comments.

N.p., 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2013. Management Information Systems by Laudon & Laudon.  Twelfth Edition. Prentice Hall, 2012. ISBN: 0-13-214287-2. Chap 4