Why Technological Advances Led to Government Acts

Why Technological Advances Led to Government Acts Outline There have been many changes in the advancement of information technology over the past two decades. Legal acts were created to better classify the rapid changes of technology and to protect the public. Many people find technology confusing, and there are people who take advantage of that weakness.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Why Technological Advances Led to Government Acts specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Legal acts were created to protect people from the unknown or the confusing. Two of these necessary acts were the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), created in 1998, and the Controlling the Assault of Non-solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act, created in 2003. At the peak of the technology age, the majority of people, especially children, wanted to be a part of the technology trend. They wanted to join chat groups and message boards. They wanted to be able to contact their friends, and make new friends. The problem was that children often revealed personal information to the wrong people. Children tend to trust what people say. As an example, the child may not realize or even consider that the 12 year old girl they are chatting with could actually be a 40 year old man. They can quickly and easily compromise their personal safety. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) protects minor children that are under the age of thirteen. At the time of creation, websites were collecting and using personal information about children, information that could essentially be accessed by anyone. This caused an unsafe potential for public profile viewing. As an example, before the COPPA Act, a child could post on message boards or participate in chat groups alongside adults. This endangered the privacy of the child and put them at risk from harm by online predators. The COPPA act was created to help hide the personal identity of a ch ild. Typically, children cannot be held accountable for sharing their personal information; they do not understand the implications. This act protects the unknowing child from the predator. The Assault of Non-solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM) was created to stop the email of unsolicited pornographic material and commercial solicitation. Pornographic emails were seen as predatory and abusive. Spam email was consuming the inbox; approximately half of all emails consisted of unsolicited spam messages.Advertising Looking for research paper on public administration? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More One goal of the CAN-SPAM Act was to eliminate fraud and deception. Another goal was to free the inbox so that people were able to receive email correspondence that they actually wanted. With the mass spamming seen before the act was implemented, there was a risk of losing important messages amidst the junk mail. For some people there was the need for additional email storage, costing them more money. There was also the need for excess time to remove spam from their inbox. Unsolicited email was costly and time consuming; regulation was needed to help people cope with the problem. When technology began to advance quickly, there were problems that arose just as quickly. The government needed to find a way to protect the people before they made a costly mistake. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and the Controlling the Assault of Non-solicited Pornography and Marketing Act were just two acts created to ensure the security of the individual within the nation. People continue to look for the newest and most efficient way to share information; these acts and many others allow them to pursue the advances of technology with less fear. References Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998. (1998). Retrieved from COPPA Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act: coppa.org/coppa.h tm Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing. (2011). Web.