Effects
Although the right to privacy seems inherent within the framework of democratic principles, it was not explicitly defined until the 20th century. In the 1965 Supreme Court case of Griswold v. Connecticut, Judge Douglas argued that the right of privacy emerges from a "penumbra" of constitutionally guaranteed protections including:
  • the 1st Amendment right of association
  • the 4th Amendment "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures"
  • the 5th Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination
  • the 9th Amendment identification of unspecified rights "retained by the people"

Within these Amendments, there is certainly the theme that there exists the notion of the right of privacy in the sense that people should be free to associate with any organization or beliefs, secure to pursue those associations in their homes without unreasonable snooping, and are exempt from sharing any information that could be deemed harmful.

Theoretical objections aside, there are some practical ways in which the privacy invasion as performed online can lead to undesirable effects. One effect that is more annoying than harmful is the receipt of unsolicited marketing. From junk mail to telemarketers, the Internet has given rise to spam, a deluge of unwanted emails attempting to sell various products and services. When a user profile is linked with an email address, this information becomes valuable enough to sell to a marketing company that receives more detailed information regarding a segment of its target market. From the user’s perspective, the mound of unwanted email continues to grow.

One could also find oneself at a disadvantage because of the user profiles that are being built. For instance, if companies can buy information about a potential employee’s clickstream and finds that it includes questionable or controversial content such as topics on sexual preference, medical health, pornography, or religion, then the applicant could potentially be discriminated against and be denied a job. Whether true or false, the content that the applicant has viewed has contributed to the construction of his/her image that has caused denial of employment. As Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said, "In terms of how information is collected and used on the Internet, to allow detailed secret profiles to be created is disastrous."