• by George Simpson , Featured Contributor, April 15, 2011

"Myspace knowingly serves as and profits handsomely from being a conduit through which details of the most intimate aspects of its members' lives, as reflected in their Internet browsing history and otherwise, are transmitted to data aggregators, who package the information into profiles and sell it like any other commodity to advertisers," according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in a New York federal court. This class action might come down to how one defines "intimate aspects," since most of the proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate and House this week seems to say it is OK to collect "anonymous" data as long as trackers provide a clear opt-out for users.

Personally, I don't think anything I do online is "intimate," but on the other hand, I haven't updated my Facebook page in about five years -- never uploaded family pics -- or tweeted about anything I didn't care if the entire world found out about. Feel free to track my navigation, even my occasional visits to porn sites (well, not porn per se, but sites that post pix of topless models and celebrities who by and large present their private parts as a tactic to advance their careers -- for which I thank them.) Feel free to assemble every search word or terms I have ever Googled or Binged (it will take you on a plastic, fantastic ride since I use search primarily as a spell and fact checker.) Examine my bookmarks and favorites and preferences -- I don't care. In fact, I assume somebody does it every time I go online.

Most of the developed world has been online for at least a decade. By now there should be NO question that you have NO privacy there. Why is this even a debate anymore? There seems to be a giant disconnect between what people say is their "private" online data and what they post online in social networks -- or anywhere else. Folks who join class-action lawsuits crying about their privacy being compromised are the same people who put photos of themselves online (often in various states of inebriation) tagged with their real names or discuss intimate details of their lives in forums or in the open on wall posts or blogs. And then get upset because somebody aggregates that information -- along with tens of thousands of other people who discuss similar subjects -- to serve them an ad. An ad, for Christ's sake. Personally, I'd be a happy camper if I was served ads with topless movie stars. Nothing creepy about it.

Yes, there should be some limits. Say, not tracking anything and everything having to do with medical conditions (very broadly defined to include diets, addictions and even the common cold), but beyond that, go for it. How great it is if when you search for "gay porn" you also get ads for sites that have just what you are looking for? Nobody suing Google Adsense over a breach of privacy there.

I have read all of the doomsday scenarios about the misuse of online data gathering, from the ability of our next dictatorship to round up everyone of a certain belief and put them in concentration camps to being denied insurance based on tidbits you left here and there online. And I understand that some privacy wonks say it is a very short trip from data collected to serve ads to the creation of enemy lists, but I'm not buying it.

The American public has for decades left little tidbits of their lives offline, from subscriptions and shipping addresses chock full of personally identifiable information to credit card and loyalty card purchase data that is routinely sold and resold. Go to the home page of any direct marketer and read about the audience segments they offer, from Newborns & Prenatal to High School Students to Religious Affiliation. All from tidbits you left somewhere offline. But to my knowledge, nobody has used those lists to do any ethnic cleansing or out anyone's sexual preference or (insert your own worst fear: ____________).

Yes, data collection online is getting more and more sophisticated. But sue the NSA, who probably has a far more complete dossier on you than some random ad network. Consumers have to understand that these ad companies collecting data for ad targeting aren't all sitting in a smoke-filled room merging their lists to create mega profiles. In fact, just the opposite; they consider their data so proprietary that they don't want any other company to have it. Yes, they resell it and put it up for auction, but no one is spending their time buying it all up so they can write the book on you.

Here is a pretty easy rule to live by: There is no such thing as inherent privacy online. Get used to it. Live with it. Use the newest technology to limit what can be tracked about you (all the browsers will soon give you an opt-out option). And get over the fact that someone is using your online behavior to serve you ads. If they didn't, your access to the glorious information that is the World Wide Web would come at such a cost, you would beg for ad-supported sites and content again.