(5) Privacy, Online & Off

In my opinion, the biggest failure of technology is the power imbalance created by data. Due to your digital footprint, it is remarkably easy for someone to track you and see where you're going, what you are doing, and with whom, all with the click of a button. As technology continues to blur boundaries, we must ask ourselves, how do these issues affect not just the data but also our dignity? In class, we focused on six TED Talk videos that explained four significant realities concerning our privacy in technology.

15 Minutes of Fame or Forever?

Andy Warhol's theory states that "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." Welcome to the future. With electronic tattoos, facial recognition devices like Hello and Face.com, and biometric scanners, we are way beyond 15 minutes of fame. We are in the face of digital immortality. Our faces unlock phones, our expressions are analyzed, and our movements are watched by the cops. You can only imagine how much data the government has on you and your family. We are always being watched, but what does it cost us?

The ancient Greeks warned us before technology existed. Sisyphus taught us that reputation is a never-ending hill going uphill and back down. Narcissus fell in love with his reflection, resulting in destruction because he was unable to leave it. These aren't just myths. They are metaphors for our electronic tattoos. Jorge Luis Borges once asked, "How else can you threaten me without death?" In today's society, it's data, not death, that holds the power to silence or shame us.

The Government Sees You

From location security to Stingray devices that can tap your phone from inside your home, the surveillance state is cruel and relentless. The federal government collects all kinds of data, ranging from license plates and protest attendance to even an 80-year-old, John Cat, who attended a lawful political demonstration because he dared to draw the people who attended.

Think about that for a second.

It is not a problem for what the government is collecting but how it is being used. We are talking about our government officials abusing their power with mass data without us even knowing or giving consent. And once our information is in the "one vast database," we're screwed. We lose control over it, and we don't know how they use it. 

Encrypting is Protecting

Wiretapping has been enhanced in the past couple of decades and is only getting scarier with it being embedded into our phones. Apple and WhatsApp are some of the first apps to use encryption to protect our privacy, but government officials are furious because of the power we are gaining back. Why should the government be able to wiretap our personal lives, but we can't? They say they have safety in mind, but the abuse of power they are using is appalling. We deserve privacy in our communication without fearing that our calls, texts, or thoughts are being monitored. Encryption isn't a luxury; it is a necessity in today's society.

Visibility, Not Vulnerability: Women Have Rights Too

Living in America is hard for women. Being seen online can mean being targeted for things that are out of your hands. Revenge porn, digital stalking, and cyber harassment are forms of digital domestic violence, according to Darieth Chisolm. One in twenty-five women has experienced revenge porn. For women under twenty, the number rises to one in ten. Yet predators like Darieth's ex walk away with a slap on the wrist. Her story is so impactful because it took her more than three years to arrest and serve her ex, not even on American soil. The Jamaican officials arrested him and charged him. Is it Justice? Personally, I don't think so because of the evidence she had to turn in just to get him arrested. Her vulnerability was shot down when the all-male government investigation team used her photos to charge her ex. Loopholes and noncompliant internet businesses, protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), allow offenders to hide across jurisdictional boundaries even when the "Enough Act" attempts to make revenge porn illegal. That is not justice.

Now What?

We may be on the cusp of digital immortality, but let's not forget about what makes us human: dignity, choice, and freedom. These issues affect every part of our lives and make us think twice before we share something personal online. We take all these precautions when it comes to technology, but it is exhausting. The government should be limited to what data they can see and pass meaningful legislation that would help our community, not harm us further. For us, as the people being watched, we should be educated more and encrypt our data as much as we can.