In years gone by there existed an understanding that one's personal information surrendered to private companies was a voluntary choice - the "Cost," if you will, to obtaining the benefit of a company's goods or services.
With the digital age have come new opportunities for companies and government agencies alike to spy on citizens.
Like throwing chum in the water to attract sharks, this treasure trove of data in the hands of private companies has caught the attention of government agencies at all levels; especially law enforcement agencies suddenly freed from the strictures of the Fourth Amendment.
While some companies, like Apple, have at times put up a principled fight against such incursions, despite backlash from the Department of Justice, most others have shown little hesitancy to cooperating with government agencies.
While users may trust that a company or app will protect their data, recent revelations of the cozy sharing relationship between companies and the government prove that such trust is badly misplaced.
Even what many people might consider nominal and unimportant data points, such as photos or geolocation information, can be harvested, bundled, and databased in ways that far exceed what is expected, or known, by the users - data over which the original collection company loses control once shared with other companies or government agencies.
You can bet social media companies and internet search engines in our country are paying rapt attention to how that process unfolds, and explains why these companies are opposed to even the most basic legislative reform proposals.
https://townhall.com/columnists/bobbarr/2020/01/29/draft-n2560272
With the digital age have come new opportunities for companies and government agencies alike to spy on citizens.
Like throwing chum in the water to attract sharks, this treasure trove of data in the hands of private companies has caught the attention of government agencies at all levels; especially law enforcement agencies suddenly freed from the strictures of the Fourth Amendment.
While some companies, like Apple, have at times put up a principled fight against such incursions, despite backlash from the Department of Justice, most others have shown little hesitancy to cooperating with government agencies.
While users may trust that a company or app will protect their data, recent revelations of the cozy sharing relationship between companies and the government prove that such trust is badly misplaced.
Even what many people might consider nominal and unimportant data points, such as photos or geolocation information, can be harvested, bundled, and databased in ways that far exceed what is expected, or known, by the users - data over which the original collection company loses control once shared with other companies or government agencies.
You can bet social media companies and internet search engines in our country are paying rapt attention to how that process unfolds, and explains why these companies are opposed to even the most basic legislative reform proposals.
https://townhall.com/columnists/bobbarr/2020/01/29/draft-n2560272
No comments:
Post a Comment