Choicepoint Case Analysys - 1748 Words

Choicepoint: A Case of Privacy in the 21st Century Introduction Since its founding in 1776, America has been a country where the rights of individuals are one of the most important issues. As time has passed and the country progressed, this issue has evolved and taken different forms; the Civil War was fought over whether people of all colors had the right to freedom, in the early 20th century women finally demanded their long overdue right to vote (Wikipedia, 2003), and most recently, in the 1960’s, people of color had to assert their right to equal treatment under the laws of this nation. As the 21st century begins, the citizens of this nation are facing a new and unique challenge to the rights of the individual, specifically, a†¦show more content†¦People should have more control over their personal information than a corporation because they will value and safeguard it better than a company out to make a profit. To address this issue, Congress should pass a major law banning the sale of any personal information without an individuals express consent, along the lines of the Federal Do-Not-Call list, but much more restrictive. This law would not prevent companies from sharing necessary information like credit history or criminal convictions, but it would ban selling things like addresses, phone numbers, mother’s maiden names, and other information companies have no good reason to possess. This would assure customers that their information was not being passed around to anyone who wanted it and it would make identity theft impossible unless the individual himself was conned into giving out the information. b.) The first alternative discussed would have a positive impact on Choicepoint, its customers, and the average citizen. Choicepoint would be correcting its databases at very little cost to the company by using voluntary submissions. This would help its public image and it could say it was giving people every opportunity to make sure information about them was correct. Customers of Choicepoint would have the dual benefit of doing business with a company no longer being