Our privacy

Government Surveillance and Personal Privacy 

    One of the first things mentioned in the TED Talk was military-grade weapons being given to local police departments. She then discusses surveillance footage and location tracking, which allows the government to see information about you, like where you go and what you do. There are radar readers on cars and poles that can keep records of everyone and every license plate seen on the road, whether that person did anything wrong or not. 

This stood out to me because I never really thought about how much information could be collected just from someone driving around normally. She gave an example where the government had hundreds of photos saved of her friend just going about his normal life. I think it is strange that this much information can be collected on someone who hasn't actually done anything wrong.

Flock Camera

We also aren't the only country doing this, as similar surveillance happens in England. Cell phone tower dumps can help police find hundreds of thousands of connections and locations along with phone pings. I understand how this could be useful for actually solving crimes, but I also think there is a point where it becomes too much. The problem is that this type of information can always be abused, whether through blackmail, false accusations, or other uses.

Another important idea is the state action doctrine, which deals with situations without government involvement. A company like Palantir is private and is not technically the government, but private companies can sell data to the government. Companies selling your data is basically part of the business model. 

This also connects to contracts of adhesion, where one party holds all the power. I think Terms of Service are a good example because most people, including myself, accept them without actually reading everything that is in them.

The third-party doctrine also connects directly to the internet. When the first party voluntarily gives information to a second party, like Facebook, the first party gives up control over how that information can be used by third parties downstream. I think most people don't realize how much control they are giving up when they give their information to a company.

Juan Enriquez's TED Talk connects these issues to Greek gods and Greek mythology and how you find yourself on the internet. What I found interesting is the idea that what we put online can create a lasting version of ourselves that becomes difficult to control. Together, these talks made me think more about how much information about me exists online and how little control I may actually have over where it goes.

AI DISCLOSURE: This post was a collaboration using ChatGPT. I took detailed notes while watching two TED Talks about government surveillance. In addition to the facts that I learned, I emphasized my own reactions and opinions while watching. I then asked ChatGPT to help me improve the text by correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I then asked ChatGPT to help me shape the text into a blog post format. After reviewing the text, I added appropriate images and captions.