There are many ways in which personal information is collected. Companies receiving this information buy/sell personal information for marketing and advertising purposes, but cyber crimes can occur when personal information is transmitted through cyberspace. Communications professionals use technology a lot in their work and want to know that their work and personal information is protected by federal law, common law and statutes. It's alarming to think of a person or company buying and selling your personal information. Big Brother gets a makeover: behavioral targeting and the third party doctrine (Brotherton, 2012, p. 555), points out: “What few Internet users realize is that, during the time they browse the Web, they are subject to constant surveillance by potentially hundreds of different private companies.” In today's online environment and new technologies, it's clear that this type of activity happens all the time. Third-party data brokers are companies that buy and sell personal information obtained from cell phones, financial institutions, and social media sites. The information obtained from these companies is used to sell it to other companies for advertising and other commercial purposes. These are not small companies but large companies that make a lot of money from people's personnel information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends that Congress create consumer targeting legislation to provide better transparency into the practices of data brokers. The FTC has noted a lack of transparency regarding the practices of data brokers, who often purchase and share large amounts of personal information about consumers. Consumers are often unaware of the existence of data brokers, nor of the purposes of the collection...... middle of paper ......s/Kerr, OS (2010). Applying the Fourth Amendment to the Internet: A General Approach. Stanford Law Review, 62(4), 1005-1049. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/224083788?accountid=3783Office for Privacy and Civil Liberties. The United States Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/opcl/index.htmlSchneier, Bruce. (May 2005). Risks of communicating data to third parties. ACM 48, 5, 136-. DOI=10.1145/1060710.1060744 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1060710.1060744 Schwartz, Matthew. (7 April 2011). Pandora transmits massive amounts of personal data. http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/pandora-transmits-mass-quantities-of-per/229401147State laws related to Internet privacy. National Conference of State Legislatures. http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/telecom/state-laws-lated-to-internet-privacy.aspx