Blog Post 5

Jessica Sensi

Blog Post 5

            In this day and age, privacy is very hard to achieve, however I do not think that The United States Government violates privacy through data collection. Mostly it is not violated because corporations already have this data and with the rise of the Internet, it is very easy to track the movement of people and what they are doing. The hindrance of privacy due to the rise of technology is inevitable and many “agree” to this hindrance by using the Internet.

            In his article, Ethan Zuckerman explains how corporations are using the Internet and surveillance to target ads to consumers. Telephone providers and Google have contracts with The United States Government in order to pass along our data in order to maintain national security. Many American citizens are upset with this because the corporations are using our information in order to make a profit, however, I don’t think there is anything wrong with giving our information to the government if it is being used to keep The United States safe, especially if the information is out there already. In terms of Facebook, people willingly put their information online. We check-in at places and set status updates that let our friends know what were doing and where we are. The whole premise of Twitter is to “tweet” what you're doing and what is on your mind at the moment. While bank statements are not posted on Facebook, most people are comfortable putting their information online, or sending it to others via cyber mail or other cyber pathways. With this rise of technology and the use of Internet, the reconceptualization of privacy is necessary. Many American citizens are angry because most of things done online lead to their data being collected by corporations, and in turn the government. However, there isn’t much privacy when you're using the Internet. As stated earlier, people spend a lot of their time shopping online, checking in on Facebook, and tweeting what they are doing. We use our credit cards online and search things on Google that say little things about us. Many argue that this is not something the Founding Fathers wanted, that the right to privacy is something that should be maintained and the government does not have the right to collect information about us. The right to privacy shouldn’t be eliminated, but it needs to be reconceptualized because of the times we are living in now. The Founding Fathers were not living in a time where technology was at the level that it is now. Privacy and the use of the Internet is a give and take and there needs to be a balance between them if national security is at stake.  

            On another note, even though mass data is being collected on people in The United States, the amount of data being collected makes it hard for corporations and even the government to look at each person individually. There is so much data that it is nearly impossible for them to sift through it all thoroughly. They wont be looking through the data pertaining to the everyday American citizen, but those who are suspicious. Because not all of us are being watched with a close and careful eye, our privacy isn’t being hindered. They are paying attention to potential threats to the country and its people, and while some of our information may be looked at, I don’t believe they do anything with it. Personally, I am okay with the bulk data collection because I believe it is not much to give up in order to maintain national security. Hasan Elahi touches on this fact during his TED talk. Elahi posts pictures of his life so that it is easy to see what he is doing and where he is at all times. They are posted on his website for all to see, and whenever they want. This shows how he took being detained and turned it into giving the federal government what they wanted. Elahi said, “By putting everything about me out there, I am simultaneously telling everything and nothing about my life.” This made me think a little as we do this everyday anyway through our social media, more or less he is posting pictures and this is what we do on Instagram. Instagram even has a map function where you can see where all your pictures were taken. His philosophy is that the more information you give, the more privacy you will have because the government won’t have to track you. I agree with him because soon people will give so much information while using the internet, that the United States wont have to collect all this data on us, and they will focus on those that are a threat.