<P> As one of the largest growing concerns American adults have of current Internet privacy policies, identity and credit theft remain a constant figure in the debate surrounding privacy online . A 1997 study by the Boston Consulting Group showed that participants of the study were most concerned about their privacy on the Internet compared to any other media . However, it is important to recall that these issues are not the only prevalent concerns our society has . Though some may call it a modern - day version of McCarthyism, another prevalent issue also remains members of our own society sending disconcerting emails to one another . It is for this reason in 2001 that for one of the first times ever the public demonstrated an approval of government intervention in their private lives . </P> <P> With the overall public anxiety regarding the constantly expanding trend of online crimes, in 2001 roughly fifty - four percent of Americans polled showed a general approval for the FBI monitoring those emails deemed suspicious . Thus, it was born the idea for the FBI program: "Carnivore", which was going to be used as a searching method, allowing the FBI to hopefully home in on potential criminals . Unlike the overall approval of the FBI's intervention, "Carnivore" was not met with as much of a majority's approval . Rather, the public seemed to be divided with forty - five percent siding in its favor, forty - five percent opposed to the idea for its ability to potentially interfere with ordinary citizen's messages, and ten percent claiming indifference . While this may seem slightly tangent to the topic of internet privacy, it is important to consider that at the time of this poll, the general population's approval on government actions was declining, reaching thirty - one percent versus the forty - one percent it held a decade prior . This figure in collaboration with the majority's approval of FBI intervention demonstrates an emerging emphasis on the issue of internet privacy in society and more importantly, the potential implications it may hold on citizens' lives . </P> <P> Online users must seek to protect the information they share with online websites, specifically social media . In today's Web 2.0 individuals have become the public producers of personal information . We create our own digital trails that hackers and companies alike capture and utilize for a variety of marketing and advertisement targeting . A recent paper from the Rand Corporation claims "privacy is not the opposite of sharing--rather, it is control over sharing ." Internet privacy concerns arise from our surrender of personal information to engage in a variety of acts, from transactions to commenting in online forums . Protections against invasions of online privacy will require individuals to make an effort informing and protecting themselves via existing software solutions, to pay premiums for such protections or require individuals to place greater pressure on governing institutions to enforce privacy laws and regulations regarding consumer and personal information . </P> <P> Google has long been attacked for their lack of privacy in the U.S. as well as abroad . In 2007, however, the tables began to turn . Peter Fleischer, a Google representative, addressed the U.N. in France regarding privacy issues and expressed that the current international privacy policies were not adequately protecting consumers . Instead of continuing to enforce broken and ineffective Internet privacy laws, the Google representative proposed that the United Nations establish a global privacy policy that would efficiently protect consumers privacy while causing the least possible amount of negative impact on web browsers such as Google . At that time, Google was under investigation by the European Union for violating the global privacy policies that were already in place . The greatest issue related to Internet privacy internationally is that of data collection . At this point in time, the U.S. and the European Union had separate sets of privacy policies, making it increasingly difficult for companies such as Google to exist globally without violating such policies . Google is just one example of a large company whose primary goal is to make money by serving their product, web browsing, to consumers . Consumers, however, are concerned with the quality of that product and their privacy . Online data collection by search engines allows Internet businesses to track consumer's online roadmap, everything from the sites they visit to the purchases they make . This poses problems globally to those who are web users around the world, especially in a world where there is no overarching privacy policy . The general consensus of this issue regarding international privacy violations at the time of Fleischer's U.N. address is that, since the Internet is global, the privacy policies should also be global and unified . </P>

How the internet can manipulate the privacy rights and personal data of a person