Lost: The Right to Privacy

Why is my personal information for sale online?

I have given no one permission to publish my personal information, including my unlisted phone number, my home address (with a map showing where I live), my e-mail address, age, names of family (and former family) members, and other personal details. 

And even when I demand that my personal information be removed (which I believe the companies are required by law to do), it's only a matter of months before it reappears. I have spent hours online locating and requesting removal of my information. 

Why do I have to track down all these companies that are publishing my personal information without my permission? Why do I have to 'opt out' of having my information available to the world? Anybody who doesn't mind having their personal information available to anybody who wants it should be required to opt in. The burden should be on the company wishing to sell the information to obtain permission to do so, not on the individual whose personal information is sold.

I realize that some personal information is readily available from property and tax records. But my e-mail address, phone number, age and family members should not be. And even if the information is available, it shouldn't be used without permission.

I do have an online presence. That is my choice. But the information available on various social media sites is information that I have posted. I control what I post and what personal information I share, and with whom I share it. But other personal information, such as my age, birth date, unlisted phone number and e-mail address, among others, is not something I want to have available for sale to anybody willing to pay a few dollars to get it.  

There is something seriously wrong when businesses are able to collect personal information, publish it and sell it to anybody who wants it, all without the knowledge or permission of the owner of that information. In a time when identity theft is rampant, we need to press lawmakers to take steps to forbid any collection, publication and transfer of an individual's personal information without that person's express written consent.

I have requested to not receive preapproved credit card offers, yet I still receive at least one a week. Most of the mail I receive goes directly into the recycle bin. Some gets shredded and then recycled. I got so many phone calls from spammers to my unlisted home phone number that I stopped answering it and turned off the ringer and answering function. Anybody who needs to reach me calls my cell phone. And I won't answer that phone unless I recognize the number or am expecting a call.

When did we give up our rights to privacy? And what can we do to get them back? Sadly, it seems too late to restore these rights in the face of the 'maximize profits at all costs' Republican administration.The government's do-not-call list is a joke. Unsubscribing from e-mail lists to which I never subscribed is a daily occurrence. And now businesses are capturing my IP address when I visit their site, resulting in the inevitable arrival of spam e-mails I never agreed to receive. 

I fear the genie is out of the bottle, we have lost all expectations of privacy, and we aren't likely to ever have control of our personal information.