26. Web Privacy Becomes A Business Imperative

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/technology/amid-do-not-track-effort-web-companies-race-to-look-privacy-friendly.html?hp&_r=0

Somini Sengupta writes to The New York Times on March 3rd about privacy in online networks and businesses. Sengupta begins the article by stating that different internet companies have been engaging themselves in a war to prove whose company is safer. She mentions several examples of that, starting with Mozilla Firefox's new attempt to step ahead through their new possible option of disabling third-party tracking. The author references to a couple other examples, and then moves on to another goal the companies are trying to achieve: they want to "stave off government regulation," which is always in constant change. Companies are trying hard to give their costumers all the privacy options possible, not only on computers, but on mobile devices as well. Sengupta mentions Facebook and a few Apple products to give her credibility. Then, she explains companies are not only worried about competition and government rules, but about "regulatory scrutiny of their use of personal data." In the last few paragraphs of the article, Sengupta writes about a few emerging services in the same of privacy, such as Abine, which charges a monthly fee for advanced features that increase the users privacy. She closes the article with a quote by Alex Fowler, who says the consumers are requesting a whole new level of privacy nowadays.

Sengupta's purpose with this article is to inform the reader about the privacy system development in online businesses and internet companies and how those affect the consumer. To achieve her goal, she uses many examples the reader has contact with, bringing him closer to the subject and  engaging him in the topic as she mentions Facebook, Google and Apple, making the reader feel as if he's a part of the people referred to in the article. Sengupta also uses quotes and references to the past to show the reader her credibility. However, I feel the author fails to bring closure to her thesis, only stating a fact and filling the article with anything connected to her main point.