It seems that in this internet age we are slowly but surely giving away all of our personal and deeply important liberties. It feels like there is a new story every day of a tech giant selling our data or overstepping their boundaries. The confidence these big tech firms have comes from an awareness that the everyday internet user does not fully understand their internet rights. This has led almost every site using cookies to track and consume your internet footprint to distort to their own needs. This passage will aim to break down what a company is actually legally allowed to do with your data, so you know of and are aware of any wrong practices.

What Data can They Collect?

Firstly, I feel it is important to understand just what data a website can collect before we obviously go into how they choose to use it. Under current US internet law, any company can access your location information, how long you choose to spend on a website, your internet history, and the activity on any given site. So, please do keep this in mind as I examine what they choose to do with this information.

Targeted Advertising

Targeted advertising may not be a practice that many are not even aware of, but companies can and will use your internet search history to give you certain advertisements. So, for a thought exercise let us say you have been searching for tennis rackets on google, you should then expect to see an uptick in tennis based advertisements. It is as simple as that. This most certainly does feel like quite a shady practice, that may be open to corruption. The idea in principle is meant to lead to advertisements that the user may find useful and relevant. As stated in the above text, this is companies using their access to your internet search history. So before consenting or ticking an option keep this in mind.

Site User Analytics

This is another practice you may not have been aware of, but companies will access your information to find out which demographics you fit into. Let us say that a company is looking for more users in the 18-25 female demographic, to understand how to reach their quotas they will access your data to see where you fit and what exactly you chose to interact with on the site. This means that companies will legally be able to see your name, age, and gender; to process and analyze as they please.

Hardware Analytics

Companies often store the type of hardware that a consumer is using, in order to gain an understanding of your processing power. This will also be used to gain an understanding of when and where you choose to access different sites. If a user uses his computer mainly at home for recreative purposes then sites will store this information. This information is most often sold back to tech companies so they themselves can understand how their hardware processes different sites and software in the field.

If you are looking for extra safety then perhaps read the list of companies – fcra compliance site, and remember to always read the small print of any agreement, it truly does not matter how small it may seem. The agreements will usually come in the form of website cookies, and though they may seem innocent they do allow for far wielding access to your internet habits and personal information.

Have you ever found yourself frustrated with your neighbor? Whether they have a habit of playing their music just a bit too loud in the middle of the night or their dog/child refuses to give you a moment’s peace, chances are we’ve all had to face a frustrating neighbor at some point in our lives. But if you think blasting music is an issue, imagine your disdain when you discover your neighbor is trying to sue you over a tree in the backyard. Well, that’s just what one couple had to go through. The couple, who shall remain nameless for legal reasons, had been living in their new home for around 6 months with no issue. They had finally found their own little section of paradise when a letter came through the door that would turn their perfect world upside down over the next few years. One lovely summer day, the couple had come home from work to discover a letter inside their door addressed to them.

In it, they found a letter addressed to ‘The Couple in # 47’* (*house number has been purposely changed). In the letter, it explained how their next-door neighbor was getting frustrated with the growth of #47’s tree. They went on to say that it has been an ongoing issue and if it wasn’t sorted within the next week, the neighbor would be forced to take matters into their own hands. The couple scoffed at the letter and set it on their table. They wound up forgetting about it and a week had passed. If you’re looking to avoid mimicking this issue, why not keep your trees and your relationship with your neighbor in order by checking out tree loppers Perth for all your Australian tree grooming needs.

The couple had heard nothing and even began to forget about the letter when early one morning, they were woken by a loud crash. They didn’t worry and continued with their day; it wasn’t until later that week that they received an official court summons. The neighbor claimed that they had forced him to take matters into his own hands, and after trying to deal with the tree, he had wound up causing damage to his shed out his backyard and was wanting to sue the couple for damages. What followed was a ridiculous back and forth that cost both sides millions of dollars.

So, What’s the Moral of the Story?

The moral of the story is that no matter what the issue is, communication and proper research is key to solving any problem that may come your way. You can find out how the Australian laws work in your own backyard and can know for yourself what you’re entitled to. Keep yourself covered by staying with these laws and be cautious when exploring some of the grey areas.

Keep yourself knowledgeable of what you can and can’t do and who knows, someday you might be saving yourself from splurging on millions of dollars on legal fees.

Advertising law is often cited as one of the most confusing sections of the law to try interpret, this passage will attempt to break down some of the more confusing parts of these laws into simple layman terms. 

Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act

The TAC act is meant to put a leash around telemarketing companies and stop any and all deceptive practices. This act was instrumental in protecting the consumer and eliminated many shady yet common practices. 

Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act of 1992

This act requires companies to disclose possible dangers to children, and offer a transparent billing practice. This act changed telephone advertising and squeezed unsafe products out of the market. 

Fair Packaging and Labeling Act

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act requires that all consumer commodities, apart from food and drugs, label their contents and their place of manufacturing. This does not include online services so take this example of a digital signage product from digitalframe0 this product would not require the company to list such things. 

Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986

This act was perhaps one of the biggest in American advertisement history. This completely eliminated the opportunity for cigarette companies to advertise on TV and radio. The act also forced cigarette companies to place warnings on their packets, including health warning labels.  

Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act of 1966

Another important cigarette-based act was the Federal Cigarette and Advertising Act. This forced companies to report on the effectiveness of cigarette labelling, and also offer recommendations for new legislation. The Tobacco Education Act was actually based on the recommendations this act produced. 

CAN-SPAM Act

This act deals with companies that send unsolicited commercial emails. The act does not entirely ban the sending of such emails but restricts them to a strict set of guidelines. The act mainly deals with the banning of false information and aims to put a stop to deceptive subject lines. The act also offers a cash reward system for those who report deceptive practices, which eliminated immoral emails from the industry. 

Wool Products Labeling Act

This act aims to eliminate deceptive practices from the wool industry. Wool companies must now clearly label where the product was processed or manufactured. The wool company must clearly state if the wool was manufactured in the US or imported.