Privacy | Online and Off

Sarah E Harvey

It was about seven years ago that I first realized that photos other people take of you can end up on the internet. Growing up, my family would occasionally have photos done by professional photographers. When I was thirteen years old, I had some photos done and a couple years later I found images of my photo shoot plastered on the internet. Do a quick google search of Sarah E Harvey and click on images, and you will see some of those photos of me as well as a high school photo and writeup that was done by a local news channel in 2020. 

Privacy is an illusion. I firmly believe that and after watching multiple Ted talk discussions, I am even more shocked to learn how privacy may becoming a thing of the past. I especially loved the talk given by
Juan Enriquez where he described our digital online life like a tattoo. He explains that tattoos tell a story. Whether that story is something serious, funny, beautiful, or even a mistake, a tattoo is permanant. Our digital tattoos also tell a story which can also be good or bad and can be used either for or against us. What if we make a mistake in life or do something to embarrass ourselves or our family and that information gets put into the digital world for all to see? 

We already know that surveillance exists. GPS, facial recognition, credit scores, reviews we write, cookies on our computers, and our online posting behaviors are among some of the more well known technologies. But what about the automatic license plate readers that are readily available on police vehicles. Such devices are able to record license plates, who is driving a vehicle, and who the passengers are. This means every time an officer drives by our homes or passes us on the road that we become part of a permanent record of sorts. In the Ted talk given by Catherine Crump, an American law professor, I learned that the federal government is soliciting mass amounts of data from police stations across the nation. It doesn't seem to matter if the data is linked to a wrongdoer or someone who is completely innocent. The data collected is made available on each and every one of us. My thoughts go to the 'what if's.' What if such surveillance has you near the scene of a crime? What if you had done nothing wrong but because your license plate or your face was recorded harm could come to you. 

Now think about your phone. Most of us cannot live without it. We don't leave home without it, we keep it in our presence all the time. It is there beside us while we sleep, when we go on vacation, and when we have what we think are private conversations. According to the Ted talk given by Christopher Soghoian, telephone companies have long been tapping telephone lines. Telephone surveillance is actually built right into the networks making surveillance part of their plan. This creates an open door for hackers and anyone else wanting to do harm to come right inside. This talk spoke about the cost we pay for such surveillance under the guise of things like national security. Compromises in security and privacy happen all the time. People's personal credit is hacked allowing identity theft. Entire governments can be hacked by people wanting to shut down major systems and to cause interruptioins. One point Soghoian makes is that the change that is needed will cause institutions like law enforcement to expend more efforts in doing their jobs.

Cyber crime and cyberbulling is a real thing where terrible things can happen to individuals whose privacy is invaded. Ted talk speaker, Darieth Chisolm, found out the hard way when compromising photos appeared on the internet after a difficult breakup with an ex boyfriend. Lack of legislation and laws do not make prosecution or remedies to situations like these easy to fix. Like most prosecutions, there are loopholes and gray areas that make justice impossible for most people. In Chisolms' case, her pursuit and fight did eventually lead to the prosecution of the offender and Chisolm now uses her platform to inform others about this type of abuse. Her case was the very first international case recognizing this type of crime. She advocates for stronger social responsibility in posting, more stringent enforcement of laws, and accountability for online companies. Her movement is called, 50 Shades of Silence, and has become a global movement giving voice to victims of cyber harassment and online crimes. 

Andy Yen, founder of a company called Proton, recognizes the need for a complete overhaul of the internet. Although the internet has certainly made life easier, it has also come with some negative things like data collection. When thinking just about emails, which we assume are strictly between the party sending the email and the one receiving it, we assume that communication is private and for our eyes only. That is far from the truth because of private and public keys that exist on servers and our computers. Yen's company has developed an email system where both the private and public keys are only held by the parties involved in the email. Companies are not interested in securing our data through email encryption because that would reduce their revenues. Optimized ads need to know all about us. Advertising generates revenue and since invading our privacy is key to that formula, companies are not on board with changing how secure our emails are. 

The scariest Ted talk discussion was led by Finn Lutzow Holm Myrstad regarding a child's toy called the Kayla doll. Introduced to children, the doll connects to the internet making it possible to interact with the child. What researchers found was that anyone with a smart phone could connect with the doll and have complete conversations with the child. This was a major security flaw and terrifying. The doll was banned but this leads me to wonder about smart thermostats and speakers we have in our homes. Are those also subject to anyone being able to hack in and listen to our private conversations? The doll used an app like so many technology products today. Apps always require those irritating terms of use protocols. I am definitely guilty of just accepting without reading one single word. 

Dating apps work in the same way. Sign up with an account, agree to the terms, and off you go. What research has shown is that some apps are having you agree to allowing the app to use your personal photos and allowing it forever with the inability to change your mind. You may ask yourself what is the harm? Think about the possibility that because your online personal Information is found on the internet that you could be discriminated against, suffer a financial loss, not get a job, or be called out on something that was posted ten years earlier. That is the reality of posting personal information and agreeing to terms of use without being informed. 

The need for safer internet usage where our rights to privacy are respected, is needed. Enforcement and laws need to be in place to help protect those rights. We are all subject to this loss of privacy. Data has already been collected on all of us. It is going to be held in storage forever. Our personal data will outlive us. This is a serious issue because there is something very sacred about privacy. Our online privacy is just as important as our physical privacy. We don't walk around naked nor do we choose to share our private thoughts so why would we want our personal information (photos, videos, location, emails, etc) to be shared with total strangers? 

The government is supposed to protect us and to defend our civil liberties. Is the government compromised? Are they beholding to big lobbyists and companies who want our information in order to make a buck? It seems their priorities are a little twisted and their loyalties are misplaced. I don't know what we can do to protect ourselves. I believe some of the technologies that exist are so obscure that we don't even know they are there. Certainly a starting point is to educate ourselves about the realities of the world we live in. We should definitely be conscious of the personal information we willingly put on social media and we should also assume someone is always watching.