Blog Post 7; What's Really Private?

What's Really Private?

    After learning about online privacy (or lack thereof) I decided to Google myself. Luckily, the only thing that popped up was my Facebook profile which doesn't have much detailed information about me anyway. But what about others who may have embarrassing photos or posts? What does a quick Google search of their name entail? 

    The issues that come with online privacy and censorship are extensive and worsening every single day. To get a baseline idea, I'll touch on some of the largest factors contributing to online privacy issues.     For starters, whenever you download an app, specifically a social media app, you are agreeing to an Adhesion Contract which means that one party of the contract has the power. Guess who holds that power...the social media company. This means they have access to all of your data, posts, and
information and can use it however they want. 

    Secondly, a Shrink-Wrap Contract hinders your privacy and usage of a technology product. This contract basically allows and disallows what you can and cannot do such as downloading Third-Party apps on an iPhone. By purchasing the device and opening it, you automatically agree to this contract, hence the name Shrink-Wrap Contract. 

    Thirdly, Click-Wrap Contracts state that every single app has a contract. Circling back to the Adhesion Contract, this means based on the apps' contract, they can store, use, and practically do whatever they want with your information without your consent. You already downloaded the app and agreed to the Adhesion contract, so that is all they need.

    How do these contracts affect our daily life? One of the biggest ways that privacy policies are argued is through surveillance equipment. We continuously see the uses and abuses of modern technology. License plate readers and cell tower domes are the most well-known ways law enforcement and the government can abuse technology to track individuals. Local law enforcement and police stations can use a license plate reader to track where you go in your day-to-day life, even outside your home. Cell dome towers can track the location of any mobile phone and what it is being used for. What is even crazier is that local police stations can and are using a technology called Stingray devices that attach to a car. That car can then go drive into neighborhoods and other areas to see how many phones are inside a given household. Another big privacy concern that is growing with the iPhone and other technology is facial recognition. Today there are about 18 billion faces online that can be recognized, attached to a name, and then access all online data. This facial recognition was originally owned by Face.com, now all of it is owned by Facebook. Even things like cookies on websites fill our technology with malware and send our information to other people. Scary right? What do they even need that information for? The short answer is they don't. They only keep it 'just in case' they need it.

    It's argued that the police and government use and keep that information for potential blackmail,  reference in legal issues, or online advertisements. I find these defenses or excuses completely unacceptable as this level of privacy invasion is a massive civil liberties issue. Luckily, there are ways we as innocent people can prevent this privacy invasion from getting worse. 

 

  The first thing we can do is address these issues with our city and state governments. They can then create laws to prohibit the police force and state government from using this kind of technology in certain manners, such as tracking people. By prohibiting this use on the state and local level, it makes it much harder for larger government powers to access it.

    Secondly, we can use online communication apps that have strong encryption technologies that protect privacy and surveillance. Apps with encryption are apps that have strong security measures that protect users' data. The strongest apps for this are Apple's iMessage and Facetime and WhatsApp. This is partially the reason why many people today are swapping to Apple products, as they use strong encryption technology in many of their applications and products. 

    Finally, we can take some lessons from the Greeks in our future use of social media as they took the time to think about what happens when gods, humans, and immortality mix over time. Here are the most important lessons and what we can learn from them;

                      1. Sisyphus: Be careful what you post.

                      2. Orpheus: Don't dig into other people's past data or posts.

                      3. Atalanta: Remember the purpose of your post.

                      4. Narcissus: Don't fall in love with your own reflection. 

    One last lesson to include from a Latin-American, Jorge Luis Borges, who was a great poet that was threatened by the thugs of the Argentine military. When he was captive and threatened, he said, "Oh come on, how else can you threaten, other than with death?" 

    The lesson to take from this is immortality. What we post online is there forever, kind of like a tattoo. We can never escape it or get rid of it. 

    Whether we like it or not, online privacy affects all of us and we are all being watched in one way or another. This invasion of privacy affects those around us like our family and friends so be sure to share the important steps we can take and lessons we can learn to help keep our information as private as possible. Everything we say, do, post, comment, like, share and follow online is permanent. Technology and the internet is a tool, but we must use it wisely. We must be stingy with the data we share, the sites we visit, and the things we do online. If not, that electronic tattoo we thought we left behind may come back around to bite us.