Many large companies like to take advantage of this. This is referred to as mining the internet for information. This is used widely by advertising companies. The companies view your basic information such sex, hobbies, and interest. They then use your information to try to sell you things they think may interest you. This information is found because of cookies, small text files created on your computer that contain information left there by the websites you visit.
Future employers may also access your personal information via the internet. They may Google your name and see what comes up. Things find on social networking sites such as photos, and status updates could be detrimental to your being hired if there is something negative pops up.
People can control a majority of the information that is found about them. The key to that is to setup your personal privacy settings. For example, Facebook allows its user too have their information public to “everyone,” or people can choose to have only certain people to access their pages. This way, even Google can not access your information. I have my account settings this way, and it actually works. I Google my name before I did this and my account showed. But now with the privacy settings, nothing came up when I searched.
In 2006 in Italy, Google was prosecuted for putting up a video of an autistic boy who was being taunted by other children. Google ran the video for two months, and it actual became the top entertaining video, until numerous viewers reported to them that it should be taken down. I personally believe that the prosecution for was not fair. What makes the internet popular is that any and everything can be found. For Google to monitor and look at everything that goes on the web (which is nearly impossible), would be a form a censorship. The internet is supposed to be an open field where everything is allowed. Censoring it would definitely change the dynamic of it.
People that are now growing up with the internet may have different expectations on the internet and privacy. They may be more aware of the dangers and disadvantages that having your personal information on the web may bring. They may be wiser and not put personal information out there or if they do may have a greater concern for protecting it with available privacy features.
For More information:
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/science-technology/a-13-2008-04-29-voa44.html
http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2010/01/20/20readwriteweb-the-3-facebook-settings-every-user-should-c-29287.html?em
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/17/technology/17privacy.html?scp=1&sq=facebook%20privacy&st=cse
http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/12/privacy-facebook-gmail-technology-security-google.html
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/tech/D9F1NQJ03.htm