There is nothing new under the sun. Since the beginning of time, as we know it, everything that is present here on earth today has been here for millions of years. We do not create anything new, we simply invent and construct with the resources that have been provided here on earth. For example, in the time of dinosaurs, all the raw materials were here to construct a automobile. Before time was recorded, electricity was present along with nuclear energy, we have discovered the ways to harness these powers. The concept of a computer, however, is scarcely a century old, and modern electronic computation has existed for only a few decades. Computers are now used for communicating over large geographical areas through satellite, phone lines, fiber optic cables, and microwave technology. Global guidelines are needed for security of individual privacy.
Communications through these mediums, as they have been developed, have been regulated since 1934 when The Federal Communications Act of 1934 established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and empowered this agency to make rules regulating local, state, and national communications. Because of the widespread use of communicating with computers through modems, (modulate/demodulate) this agency will undoubtedly continue to regulate the communications environment and database accessibility in the future for all who want to access the "information highway". The FCC needs to continue to be the authority for what businesses, hardware/software manufactures, and the public can access through these communication environments. System software developers, the programmers who design the formats and graphical
layouts for the information highway, want everyone to be able to access everything they design for big business advertising. This means that all information that can be put into digital form, including pictures, audio, movies and text, would be assessable to anyone with a computer and modem (Soma).
One conflict with transferring data and accessing information via electronically or digitally is privacy. For example, if a doctor was out of his office and wanted information about a patient he would have to call the office and have the secretary manually go into the file drawer and retrieve that information for him. Today a doctor only needs a computer and a phone line and he can access every patient he has given medical advice to and specific details about that patient. How hard might it be for another person to access this same information. Eavesdropping, the ability to intercept private conversations without letting those individuals know that a third party is listening, is happening in the telecommunications community. Issues of individual privacy and confidentiality of communications and personal data are being raised by the increasing use of computers for data collection and information processing. The reasons for computer telecommunication and operation is to store data and process information. This task is what allows business, schools, individuals and government organizations to operate efficiently. Because of the ability to integrate several databanks into networks, information about an individual might be accessed easily. This information will not only be assessable to the organizations to whom the individual has given access rights, but
also to those individuals who know how to get into secure databanks called hackers or crackers. This means that information about an individual could be accessed and used
for purposes other than that for which it was collected for. The FCC is working on methods to stop unauthorized databank entries such as encryption, voice ID, fingerprint ID and lip prints, but many high-tech criminals can see their way around most codes (Hutchinson).
Finally, equal access on the internet or World Wide Web is a privilege not a right that can benefit everybody if used in good conduct. I am simply a computer user not a system analysis or a computer programmer or a satellite operator. In my opinion, information about anything should be accessible through the internet. On the other hand, personal information about anyone should not be accessible. Tight regulations on national databanks and personal information should be designed and controlled. If my personal databank wants to be accessed by an other individuals, those individuals must contact me through my e-mail or by telephone. Any unauthorized entry into my personal databank would lead to disciplinary action just as if a persona illegally opened my mailbox and took some of my federal mail. Information is a powerful tool that will ultimately determine who gets what, when, and how much.
Works Cited
Soma, John T. "Communications and Connectivity." Computer Technology and The Law
State University of New York Press, Albany: 163-213.
Hutchinson, Sarah E. "Ethics, Privacy, Security." Computers and Information Systems
