Blog Post #7

Has Surveillance Technology Gone Too Far?

Watching TedTalks based around surveillance technology made me more aware of the immense data collection taking place all around the world. I, like any other person, hold a normal amount of paranoia towards technology; when cookies show up at the bottom of a website I opt out of as many as possible, we put camera covers on our laptops at home, and do not use an Alexa to help our life become “that much easier.” While I didn't understand the truth and facts behind these precautions, these videos only further solidified my determination to uphold them. A year or so ago, my mother gave me her old phone and it was a model that had the option of using Face ID. For some reason I felt hesitant to take advantage of the feature and have just never set it up. I didn’t feel like my phone needed to have an accurate scan of my face and I didn’t mind typing in my passcode even if it was technically “less efficient.”

Catherine Crump spoke about how surveillance features and police license plate readers are being used to collect data. Phone companies can create and sell entire detailed profiles of technology users without their knowledge. People in the United Kingdom are being put on watch lists and accused of pre-crime after law enforcement tracks their vehicles to learn about their routines and assumes things. I thought I lived in a country where everyone has the right to be “innocent until proven guilty,” but now we need to be paranoid of our search history and the places we drive to in case someone watching deems us suspicious. When did we make the switch to the belief “guilty until proven innocent?”

I was surprised to hear from Christopher Soghoian that government officials were against the democratization of encryption and surveillance technology.  Soghoian explained how wiretapping is prevented by Apple and Whatsapp by default and it’s difficult for the government to observe people or gather data when they deem it necessary. They themselves must use technology daily to communicate from their platforms or for work and could be subject to hackers. It can be valuable to collect information on individuals who show signs of possible violence, destruction terrorism, etc. But, monitoring everyone closely just in case they could show signs of being a danger to others or our country, is not ok. Wiretapping is risky, and open to all who may choose to take advantage of it; if something is wire-tap friendly everyone is vulnerable, not just dangerous persons. Surveillance features can be used to access large figures or everyday people and it isn’t guaranteed the hackers responsible will always be caught. Since surveillance features come at such a huge cost, the government needs to respect the public’s privacy preferences and discontinue the reliance and collection of data.

In class we have discussed using VPN services on our devices to encrypt our data and clearing your history and cache to clear all of the cookies, viruses, and trackers that have been built up on your devices from visiting websites and such. We can take small actions by covering our cameras and choosing not to accept cookies, but there is a lot of data retrieval going on behind the scenes we may never see or know of. It scares me to think of how simply clicking on a clothing website could lead to me getting hacked or my information being sold and used to send targeted advertisements my way. Larger action can be taken through governing in city councils and advocating for the information collected from people to be disposed of, which was suggested by Catherine Crump. Unfortunately, this opinion isn’t shared by the government, as discussed before. Living in a democracy gives us the responsibility to voice our opinions as it’s our job to check the government's power. I believe many would agree that what is taking place crosses the line, surveillance technology is being abused, and our privacy is being violated.