Claiming Your Privacy Online: Hard, But Not Impossible
By Shannon Wilkinson, CEO, Reputation Communications
If you are like many Interfor clients, you want to keep a low profile on the Internet. But that is nearly impossible. Google and other search engines “bots” (robots) scan the Internet 24/7, collecting every shred of data available about you. Then, they aggregate: when people research you online, everything they find shows up. That is why you may have a page of invasive and sometimes disturbing results when you Google your name.
Among them is your age, home address and telephone number, with — yes — satellite pictures of your home. They include maps and the names of streets in front of, behind and near your property, enabling anyone to easily locate it…along with its back doors, windows and other entry points. Your spouse’s data, your children’s and even your relatives’ data can be included in such material. Some databases actually show “relationship” maps with it.
Unless you live in Europe. Nine times out of ten, this type of information doesn’t appear on searches. Europe has the world’s strongest privacy rights for citizens. We don’t.
Fortunately, over the summer Europe’s highest court was charged with deciding whether the “Right to be Forgotten” on Google should apply across the entire World Wide Web. This would require search engines to remove selected information from results anywhere in the world. Right now, that law applies just to Argentina and the EU. The final decision — anticipated sometime next year — will represent a landmark moment in addressing whether the global Internet, namely tech companies and other intermediaries, will remain free of legal responsibility in safeguarding your name, reputation, and privacy.
Protect your data…
For now, if you live in the U.S. or own properties here, keeping your basic biographical information private — home address, names of family members, etc. — requires care and vigilance.
Online databases actively mine obscure sources for biographical information, such as government websites and donor information sites. Bots continuously scan publicly accessible websites like those of county courthouses and telephone directories. This process is termed “data scraping.” The information they collect is assembled and published or sold and can quickly appear on multiple websites. The databases aggregate the results, which then propagate through other databases. Most offer a removal request tool that allows you to request the removal of your information, though it is usually buried in fine print at the bottom of their home page in the “Privacy Policy” section. If you have ever seen your age and home address offered for sale by sites like Intelius, Spokeo, or PeekYou, they have obtained your data is such ways. Anyone can purchase it for $10 or less. Criminals do it all the time.
There are steps you can take to keep your personal information off of such databases. Purchasing your real estate through a private trust is one. So is getting an unlisted telephone number. Another is online monitoring of your online presence, as well as social media sites maintained by your family members.
Use a data removal service
Most important is using one of the few data removal services available. “Abine/DeleteMe” continuously removes it from approximately 20 databases for around $130 annually. They also offer a“DIY” service that shows you how such removals are undertaken. You can check it out at here. Abine is based in Boston and is run by privacy advocates. In our view, they are the best in the business.
One caveat: you have to use it for life, or until U.S. privacy laws change. That’s because bots never stop searching for, and finding, your personal data online. To help change that, visit “Right to Remove”, an organization lobbying for greater privacy rights here. It is run by activists for Internet privacy and civil rights. Their site provides the most detailed steps for removing your private information from the Internet… along with a petition you can sign supporting the growing movement for more privacy.
Reputation Communications is an online reputation firm and Interfor partner serving CEOs, C-suite executives, VIPs and their organizations
