Research paper final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research paper final - Essay Example This should change because maintaining vibrant Internet demands that the government respects privacy of the information people share online. This research paper argues that illegal data mining is a threat to the Internet and American technology companies. According to data from American data companies, National Security Agency’s Internet surveillance, and illegal data mining is hurting international sales of American Internet companies and hurting online freedom. Estimates by a policy research group called Information Technology & Innovation Foundation says by 2016 US companies will lose an estimated $35 billion in lost revenues (Herman 15). Some of the companies likely to lose out most are Apple and Google that benefit most from an open Internet without national boundaries. Data mining is become an important way of getting personal information because so many people rely on the Internet to communicate and get all types of information. According to Carr (2008), he does not all his research as a writer online. Previously, he had to get magazines, books, and other written materials to research and this used a lot of time and slowed down his productivity. Internet research on the other hand is easy. He says that he starts his research by selecting a few articles, which guides him onto resources that are more similar by clinking on links. Within a short time, he is able to get quality resources that he can use for his writings. The downside of this convenience is his activities can easily be tracked. Search engines and other websites track their visitors using cookies. Tracking is done for purposes of advertising. The other groups of people interested in online activities of people are hackers and the NSA. Hackers are interested in stealing personal informa tion for personal gain. NSA on the hand track online users in order to detect illegal online activities and communications between