The Internet: An Unrestrained Accomplice in Unlawful Search and Seizure
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How would you feel if someone that had never met you and had never seen your face was able to tell you that your favorite movies were “50 First Dates, 10 Things I Hate About You, and The Princess Bride,” and that you “browse entertainment news and like to take quizzes” (Angwin, 2010). Would you feel your privacy had been sbreached because someone must have spied on you without your knowledge? That is what happened to Ashley Hayes-Beaty. “Miss Hayes-Beaty is being monitored by Lotame Solutions Inc., a New York company that uses sophisticated software called ‘beacon’ to capture what people are typing on a website” (Angwin, 2010). According to PCWorld Magazine (Sullivan, 2012), personal web habits are being tracked by companies such as Lotame Inc. and Facebook, advertisers, and corporations that “stalk” consumers on the web, and then sold to marketers and the government without web users being informed or aware of it. People like Ashley are suing data brokers that “sold consumer profiles to other companies without taking steps required under the U.S. Fair Credit Reporting Act to protect consumers” (Gross, 2012). Digital consumer monitoring is a breach of privacy that needs to be addressed. Personal data is being collected and sold without consumer consent, and the current regulatory environment is weak. As this issue becomes more prominent, a variety of solutions have been proposed, such as personal data “lockers,” Shine the Light Law, and transparency within companies. These solutions will make it more difficult for unknown parties to track unknowing consumers.

Personal data is being collected online by a variety of agencies without consumer consent. In fact, the government is even tracking U.S. citizens via their internet usage and phone records. Early in the