Blog Post #5: Privacy, Online & Off

 

Their is a high chance that a company saw what you searched today.

The government and private companies may know more about you then some of your closest friends. A term that I like from Juan Enriquez used to describe your online info is "electric tattoo". A tattoo can be used to tell a lot about a person without you even knowing or talking to them, and online info is quite similar. The Government and Private Companies can use your electric tattoo to do various improper things 

Mounted Flock Camera

The government uses it's power to see your electric tattoos. The government finds loopholes by abusing State Action Doctrine. Which states that citizens constitutional protections only applies to the government not private establishment. After private companies get your info the government would threaten and harass those companies to give it to them.

Yet all of that is just the tip of the Iceberg when it comes to the government using tactics to get your online and personal info. With the new mass production of flock cameras they have been placed all around the country. 

The government has been using them for various nefarious things like stalking and info gathering. Like for instance the New York City police flock cameras to surveil Muslim people by reading the license plates of people who go to mosques. 

The Stingray tracking device

They also have a variety of ways to track your phone. Cellphones are like tracking devices that the government can use to track you at any time. Which they can legally do via the USA Patriot Act. Giving the government the right to surveil citizens to an extent after the events of  9/11. They also use high tech surveillance gear to get access to cellphone data. For example the stingray which is a device used to spy in people's houses to get access to their phones.

The reason as to why the government is doing this is to fulfill their ultimate goal of creating massive databases full of citizens personal information. Which means they want to collect everyone's electric tattoo to use as they see fit. So for the most part your online life isn't private even the most private sites aren't completely safe. It's important to keep this in mind when going online because you never truly know whose watching.

AI DISCLOSURE: No AI was used on this blog