If a random person came up to you on the street, would you give them your personal information? Would you allow him to track and record your activities? Certainly not. While this answer may be obvious in the physical world, the behavior of the general population on the Internet is remarkably different. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and Google store large amounts of personal information about their users. Although this practice also benefits the user, unrestricted profiling can be quite disconcerting. Because government regulation can hinder Internet use, and unless the threats to Internet users' privacy outweigh the benefits, the government will not regulate the Internet. Instead, we should educate the public on how to be more responsible themselves. on the Internet, it's marketing. Businesses have found ingenious ways to generate revenue through highly targeted advertising. Every business has its unique method of identifying its consumers, some more complicated than others. For example, on a website aimed at new mothers, ads would reflect this by advertising diapers or formula. This type of targeted advertising is understood and acceptable. The consumer benefits from advertisements that interest him and the seller is more likely to make a sale. The Internet has introduced new ways to track consumer habits and interests, creating smarter advertising. Microsoft uses its Internet Explorer browser using “cookies” to track user habits. Cookies are pieces of text stored by a user's web browser. They are sent every time a user accesses a web page. These can be tracked to track the actions of internet users. Cookies are used to store...... middle of paper...... regulation may not be a solution, history has proven the power to resolve this glaring lack of privacy lies in the hands of the people themselves. How similar problems were solved in the past sheds light on the present. The now famous company Truste created the Web Privacy Seal, the little icon that tells you that the website is secure. Ten years ago, people were afraid to buy anything online with their credit card for fear of identity theft. Today, just look for this seal. As mentioned earlier, Facebook's privacy changes prompted 2.2 million Facebook members to form a group to protest the changes. Consumers recognize the threat to their control and, just as in the past, they have found ingenious ways to protect themselves. They will continue to defend their rights, which will ultimately affect company policies..