Privacy Online and Off

Nobody's lives are ever fully private online or off

Today as a society we are promised that our information is being kept secret. We agree to terms and conditions, join social media apps, and even do simple tasks such as going to the grocery store. This information is just for us, for our enjoyment, for our lives, but a 2014 TED Talk by Catherine Crump shows us how our lives aren't fully just ours. 

Catherine Crump

Crump goes into detail about different devices the government uses to track who citizens are and what they are doing, even if they aren't doing anything wrong. From Flock Cameras, License Plate Readers, and Cell Towers, the government has access to you and your information in all ways possible. 

Flock Cameras are a road tracking device that the government uses to track individuals and their whereabouts. They give access to who is in a car and because there are so many of them, the government is able to track where that person is going. License Plate Readers are cameras designed to scan license plates every time a car passes by them. While this allows the government to check off any hotlist, it also gives them the power to track all moves citizens are making. 

Lastly, Crump touches on Cell Towers. As long as your cell phone is on and you are using your cellular data from a Cell Tower, the government is able to pinpoint exactly where you are.

These devices give the government access to our personal lives and information without consent and most times without reasonable cause. I believe that the government should implement limits to their surveillance and only use when necessary. Tracking citizens as they leave their houses, go to grocery stores or work without reason invades our privacy and releases private information.

Juan Enriquez

While the government may be tracking us in ways we didn't know possible, there is also information that we willingly give to the government and public. 

Another Ted Talk by Juan Enriquez in 2013, discusses our "electronic tattoos" as citizens. Everything we post or do online is never fully forgotten or deleted, there is always somewhere that information is kept. Leaving us with a permanent stain, known as an electronic tattoo. 

Because of this tattoo that we are given, it is important that we are protecting ourselves in the best way we can. This means clearing our browser history, not accepting every cookie offered by a website, and being conscious of what we post and what we send to others.

So, while the government may be willingly tracking us, we are also willingly giving the government information, ultimately, limiting our privacy online and off. 

AI Disclosure: No AI was used on this assignment