Privacy & the Internet

-
The internet is perhaps the most public environment in our existence.  Once you put a piece of information online, it is on there permanently.  With technology improving every day, there are various different things that are possible that we as a society are unaware of.  Many of these things are placed strategically in the terms and conditions of many applications.  They are deliberately made to be lengthy and hard to understand so that customers overlook significant rights that are buried somewhere in the document. 

The government is able to have a clear view of our private lives.  With license plate trackers and data mining, it is hard to do anything without being tracked somehow.  This is unethical in my opinion because it hinders people from acting how they normally would if they were not constantly tracked.  It restricts our autonomy and personal freedom.  For example, the Amazon Alexa is a device marketed to consumers to create convenience.  However, it was discovered that regardless of whether the device is on, it still listens to what is said in your household.  Amazon then sells this data so that advertisements you receive are catered to what you talk about on a daily basis. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/finn_lutzow_holm_myrstad_how_tech_companies_deceive_you_into_giving_up_your_data_and_privacy

Image result for amazon alexa

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Google Antitrust Investigation

-
Has Google gotten too big? This is the question of many attorneys around the country.  48 states in fact.  The question behind the investigation is whether Google has achieved a monopoly in their industry, the internet itself.  Smaller advertisers have stated that the market has come down to whatever Google says, goes.  There is a serious grey area of whether this could even be considered a monopoly, however.  This kind of investigation will take time, as Google's parent company has a market value upwards of $820 million.  They control so many aspects of the internet that if you surf it you are bound to run into one of their services. I personally believe this investigation has ground to be true, but also to be false.  Google did receive a hefty fine for unfairly inserting exclusivity clauses into contracts, but their intentions do not seem negative to society in the end.  CBS News' Irina Ivanova brought to light how utilities that were a mere fantasy are now real thanks to G
Read more

Eight Values of Free Expression

-
Image
       The most important value of free expression in my opinion is the marketplace of ideas, also known as Discovery of Truth.  It is a cornerstone in our right as citizens to free speech.  It states that the truth will always win out, regardless of what people publish to try and make people believe.  Our right to publish our words is a very significant right.  Without this right, we would be unable to be public with our own thoughts.          Being required to have a license to publish at all is unreasonable.  I completely agree with Milton when he fought against this law.  There is no good reason to restrict our free speech in this way.  He mentions how there is a grapple between the truth and the lies, and that the truth will always win.  He also adds that the grapple itself makes the truth more powerful.  It makes sense that a struggle for power gives the winner more gratification and significance. 
Read more

Whistleblowers

-
Image
Whistleblowing is defined as a person who exposes secretive information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within a private or public organization. Whistleblowing is a c ontroversial subject. It is definitely not something you want to be known for doing, yet it is the right thing to do. A f amous, or infamous, whistleblowing case was with Daniel Ellsberg. He was an employee of the State Department in 1971 that leaked the Pentagon Papers, a secret account of documents pertaining to how the United States came to fight the Vietnam War. Personally, I believe that whistleblowing is the right thing to do, but if it came down to it I can't lie and say that I would do it. If I worked for a very successful company that used insider trading, I most likely would turn a blind eye and move on. What I mean is that if it benefitted me financially to forget something I would easily do so. Ultimately not blowing the whistle in that particular situation would bri
Read more