Digitalized Society: The Question of Privacy and Security by Shaima Hossain
We live in a world that is open. Any person’s social media and online information becomes instantly available and accessible within seconds. All of a sudden, records and activity are tracked by the government—and even sometimes unknown institutions—yet we, as a highly digitalized society, have grown accustomed, and, arguably, passive of this instance of privacy violation. This daily “panopticesque” occurrence of online surveillance and detection goes unnoticed, or we might tend to forget and neglect the fact that we are constantly being and monitored when we least think about it. However, it’s a completely different story when we go outside, into the public, and perform our daily lives. It’s as though we become socially, consciously aware of our behaviors and the way we act or present ourselves. We self-monitor our actions outside of our homes and police ourselves, sometimes even police others. People are inclined to change their behaviors depending where they are—either outside in society or within the secluded walls of their home—because of the feeling of security and privacy one physically feels in the comforts of their own
home. However, we are never really living in private are always monitored by other people and online institutions. To begin with, a prime example of where one is the most kept under observation is in the palm of their hands: cellphones. Now, this includes a wide range of online applications, but one of the most versatile applications is social media. It comes in different forms, from microblogging (Twitter) to media sharing (YouTube). Within these online networking sites, our information becomes widely available depending on how much we choose to share. Even then, much of our personal info is floating somewhere in cyberspace where just about anyone can access it. However, we do not think about this when signing up for various social medias. When creating a new account or downloading an app, there always is a disclaimer and list of terms present for the person to read, but that is almost always neglected. For example, in Snapchat’s Terms of Services, it is listed that “While we’re not required to do so, we may access, review, screen, and delete your content at any time and for any reason, including to provide and develop the Services or if we think your content violates these Terms.” Over 45 million people use Snapchat, that means they all have accepted to the terms following the app. Their content, including pictures
or videos that have been deleted by the user, can be accessed by the company at any time, under any circumstance. This, fundamentally, is a panopticon-like scenario where the company can monitor the user’s activity (past and present) whether the user is aware of this or not. In fact, more often, this is neglected by the user, and this is demonstrated when they blindly click “I agree to the terms and conditions” and make a social media account. Another instance where one is (unknowingly) monitored in the private of their home are security cameras and other smart devices. We install these surveillance devices for the security of use and our families. However, this sense of privacy and safety can be violated greatly to the extent that it is dangerous for the people living in the home. In a 2018 investigation conducted by Marketplace, a CBC Canadian broadcasting program, a team of three ethical hackers were requested to hack into an automated home. This included hacking into room security cameras, smart appliances (like smart speakers), and even the front door. Although this was an experiment condoned with consent of the homeowners, had this been a real-life scenario, the homeowners would have been completely and totally oblivious to their home systems being hacked. These days, much of our lives revolve around technology
to the point where we implement it into our home and make them “smart.” However, this also makes it more vulnerable for hackers to easily break through the system and observe or cause potential harm to the family who are none the wiser. A final example where one is being constantly monitored is Google. Anything from web activity to one’s location is tracked by a Google, even if Location History is turned off. Unless one manually deletes Google entries, the company still can access and store the time-stamped information. Google claims this is for the reason of bettering the user’s experience. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesman said: “Location History is a Google product that is entirely opt in, and users have the controls to edit, delete, or turn it off at any time. As the story notes, we make sure Location History users know that when they disable the product, we continue to use location to improve the Google experience when they do things like perform a Google search or use Google for driving directions.” This questions the company’s privacy policies, as they can be seen as misleading, and this also questions the user’s reliability and trust into the company. While Google collects data to give users relevant advertisements according their search history, what
else they might do with that information is dubious. For example, it can be sold to other companies without the user’s knowledge. Also, if one wishes to stop Google from tracking their information, they would have to go through a hassle of manually switching off each feature, which is both painstaking and time-consuming. To conclude, it is obvious that there is a different in one’s behavior when in public versus in private. However, no one can truly have privacy in this highly digitalized society where much of one’s information can be easily accessed and even hacked into, which poses as a major threat to one’s security. We also rely so much on smart devices, like home surveillance cameras and security and systems, but what happens when a third-party hacker invades and breaks through the barriers and gains access to manipulate these devices? Our privacy and security are put on the line, yet there are some that are ignorant of this alarming reality. Works Cited Clement, J. “Top U.S. Mobile Social Apps by Users 2019.” Statista, 10 Mar. 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/248074/most-popular-us-social-networking-appsranked-by-audience/. Denne, Luke, et al. “We Hired Ethical Hackers to Hack a Family's Smart Home - Here's How It Turned out | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 30 Sept. 2018, www.cbc.ca/news/technology/smart-home-hack-marketplace-1.4837963.
Liao, Shannon. “Google Still Tracks You through the Web If You Turn off Location History.” The Verge, The Verge, 13 Aug. 2018, www.theverge.com/ 2018/8/13/17684660/google-turn-off-location-history-data. Terms of Service. (2019, October 30). Retrieved March 15, 2020, from Snapchat. https://www.snap.com/en-US/terms.