While users wait for protective measures to become a reality, online information will continue to be harvested for profit, writes Christine Digangi in a report published by China Daily. Technology companies continue to establish do-not-track mechanisms, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission continues to monitor Internet companies' promises to users on privacy practices and the European Commission has proposed a law that would require Internet companies to obtain user permission on how their data may be used. But consumers' "insatiable appetite for information complicates data protection legislation," the report states. For now, users must embrace that their online actions will always be visible, spend energy crafting a public image or quit the Internet, Digangi writes.
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