Technology Impact on Privacy

Going offline or off the grid is not easy for everyone. Modern society has come
to repudiate the very elements that make civilization possible. Living in cyber
space is existence on life support at best. Until now, people had idiosyncratic
relations, with intimate experiences and personal memories. Thoughts were intern
al and private conduct was confidential. Under a hi-tech environment, the system
moves closer to an all knowing eye. But what happens, when the public becomes e
nlightened to the bondage of the tech prison, thanks to all the whistleblowers?
The irony befits the hypocrite techie class of privacy violators. Lamenting that
their fiefdom of intrusive surveillance and data mining might be compromised, t
he high priests of SPY, Inc. are flustered. With the disclosure of a synergistic
relationship of an intertwined nature, the high-tech prophets lay exposed. NSA
Spying Risks $35 Billion in U.S. Technology Sales has the flagship government fr
ont companies in full damage control.
"News about U.S. surveillance disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden
has "the great potential for doing serious damage to the competitiveness" of U.S
. companies such as Cupertino, California-based Apple, Facebook Inc., and Micros
oft Corp., Richard Salgado, Google s director for law enforcement and information
security, told a U.S. Senate panel Nov. 13. "The trust that s threatened is essent
ial to these businesses."
With the announcement that Facebook faces lawsuit for allegedly scanning private
messages, the diminutive privacy on this social network just got smaller. "Face
book was one of the Web Services that was caught scanning URLs despite such acti
vity remaining undisclosed to the user," according to the complaint.
Can your personal persona remain your own business? What exactly can be attempte
d to protect your identity and privacy?
Woodrow Hartzog and Evan Selinger propose in Obscurity: A Better Way to Think Ab
out Your Data Than 'Privacy', adding layers of complexity guards against most of
the ordinary risks of scrutinized personal data. However, this argument is trit
e since the cyber world of digital transmission uses the technological routing a
nd coding systems, engineered as part of the total government retrieval society.
"Obscurity is the idea that when information is hard to obtain or understand, it
is, to some degree, safe. Safety, here, doesn't mean inaccessible. Competent an
d determined data hunters armed with the right tools can always find a way to ge
t it. Less committed folks, however, experience great effort as a deterrent.
Online, obscurity is created through a combination of factors. Being invisible t
o search engines increases obscurity. So does using privacy settings and pseudon
yms. Disclosing information in coded ways that only a limited audience will gras
p enhances obscurity, too. Since few online disclosures are truly confidential o
r highly publicized, the lion's share of communication on the social web falls a
long the expansive continuum of obscurity: a range that runs from completely hid
den to totally obvious."
Privacy is a hindrance to corporate marketing, while secrecy is a threat to the
national security establishment that observes the basic rule of all technology.
Use the optimum scientific hi-tech enhancement to maintain and further the inter
ests of the ruling elites. Any technological development is viewed as a useful a
dvancement if it works to expand control over the economy or social structure.
Supporting this conclusion is an article from the master of facture awareness. M
ichael Snyder provides an impactful list of 32 Privacy Destroying Technologies T
hat Are Systematically Transforming America Into A Giant Prison.
"Many people speak of this as being the "Information Age", but most Americans do
n t really stop and think about what that really means. Most of the information th

at is considered to be so "valuable" is actually about all of us. Businesses wan

t to know as much about all of us as possible so that they can sell us stuff. Go
vernment officials want to know as much about all of us as possible so that they
can make sure that we are not doing anything that they don t like."
If you need more convincing, examine the 10 Privacy-Destroying Technologies That
Are Turning America Into A Police State, by Daniel Jennings. How many of these
devices or practices are monitoring your every move and thought?
1. Electric meters
2. Telematic devices on cars
3. Smartphones
4. RFID chips in drivers
acking of individuals

licenses, credit cards and other cards that allow the tr

5. Data mining by local and federal government

6. Voice recognition. Russian scientists have invented software called Voice Gri
d Nation that can identify the voices of millions of different people
7. Fingerprint recognition
8. Chips that monitor your body functions
9. Behavior monitoring software
10. Next Generation surveillance systems such as Trapwire and Intellistreet
Popular consensus would have you believe that this infringement into your most p
ersonal behavior is inevitable and it is futile to resist. From an institutional
perspective that viewpoint seems correct. Nonetheless, the preservation of your
human dignity demands a vigorous reassessment of the numerous ways you have the
ability to influence, if not, protect against this tech assault.
Before assuming that tech is great, reflect upon the culture of expected progres
s. Proponents of applied science automatically assume that advancement comes fro
m such evolution. Conversely, the actual function of various innovations often b
rings the loss of personal solitude. Tech is not neutral. By definition new or d
ifferent technology changes the landscape.
bigdataprivacy.jpg
What does not change is human nature. Supercharging the velocity and speed of fu
nctions and the distribution of information, without guarding the integrity of p
ersonal consent is intrinsically immoral. While that statement may seem obsolete
as the NSA constructs the largest digital computer memory center in the history
of the world in Utah with the capability of storing 5 zettabytes of data, the p
rinciple of inherent autonomy still remains.
Amitai Etzioni presents an academic postulation, attempting to answer the questi
on, Are New Technologies the Enemy of Privacy?
"Privacy is one good among other goods and should be weighed as such. The relati
onship between technology and privacy is best viewed as an arms race between adv
ancements that diminish privacy and those that better protect it, rather than th
e semi-Luddite view which sees technology as one-sided development enabling thos
e who seek to invade privacy to overrun those who seek to protect it. The merits
or defects of particular technologies are not inherent to the technologies, but

rather, depend on how they are used and above all, on how closely their use is
monitored and accounted for by the parties involved. In order to reassure the pu
blic and to ensure accountability and oversight, a civilian review board should
be created to monitor the government s use of surveillance and related technologie
s. Proper accountability requires multiple layers of oversight, and should not b
e left solely in the hands of the government."
The problem with this arms race is that it is waged among equally corrupt global
ist factions. When Mr. Etzioni asserts "How they are used" he interjects the mor
al imperative. The record of Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon, etc.
respect and protection of personal confidentially is not exactly reassuring. Th
eir government parent partner agencies in data mining use the telecommunication
corporations like Verizon, AT&T and ISP providers as giant sucking machines that
feed the secretive intelligence community.
Understanding the drill is simple, secrecy resides within the ruling class, whil
e all personal privacy is relegated to the museum of family archives. Just how c
an such a relationship be monitored by some kind of nebulous civil board to ensu
re non consensual privacy?
With the overwhelming wherewithal, increasing technological capacities allow, ev
en greater levels of abuse and evil applications. If no other lesson is internal
ized from the Edward Snowden disclosures, society better admit that trust in the
secure use of communication technology is near zero.
When privacy is surrendered so willingly, especially with no consequences for th
e offending government agencies or complicit corporatist associates, the future
of civilized life comes into question. Yet, people are so easily induced to accl
imate into using the next wizard device.
Life is a beach no longer. Now Disney Can Track Your Every Move with NSA-Style W
ristbands, is using the "Magic Bands" which are currently optional are part of a
new MyMagic+ "vacation management system" that can track guests as they move th
roughout the park..Efficient? Perhaps. But post-Snowden, some worry that Magic B
ands are nothing more than NSA-esque tracking devices."
Oh, that voluntary choice lasts only as long as it is offered. This culture of "
personal space" invasion is meant to indoctrinate the friendly likes into a slee
ping death from poison apples. Being buried alive, in a snow job of tech that pr
omises you will be the fairest in the land, will not make you a queen.
That prince charming kiss only comes with resisting any snooping gear that dimin
ishes the innate right for privacy. Taking protective measure against technologi
cal enslavement is the real national security mandate. The enemy is not some fai
ry tale monster; just look no further than to your own government. You have the
right to your secrets. Dump the smart devices and go as low-tech as possible.
SARTRE

January, 6, 2014

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