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| | | -- By ChevaunSamuels - 11 Oct 2019 | |
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< | Of all the noises that I will never forget growing up, the one that always sticks out to me the most and is nearest to my heart is not from my friends, songs nor a television show. Instead, it’s the sound of a modem connecting with another modem and yelling to my cousins that they need to get off the phone. It was the joyous noise of being part of the beginning of the internet and the power to immerse myself in a whole new world. Growing up this was our only computer in the house, and we had to make do with what we had. We found ways to get our homework done and late in the nights when everyone was sleeping and had no need for the telephones, we would play Disney Channel games and watch random YouTube? videos. | >
> | Most people today, whether it is big or small, rely on the help of technology. Commonly, these individuals cannot go through their day without the use of technological innovations such as computers, internet connection, printers, applications, and file storage. As technology continues to improve and our society modernizes, it has become easier and easier to access these technological innovations. | | | | |
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< | Today’s generation will never know the patience it took to connect to the internet. As society continues to modernize, these memories slowly fade away, losing a powerful part of our history. Technology is a powerful force that has continued to develop and mold itself around the modernization of our society. Kids today now have the power to browse the internet, send messages and make calls from watches on their hands and iPhones that cost the equivalent of one month’s rent for some people. Technology has thus demonstrated a consistent trend toward innovations as a result of improving upon current ones. Despite this trend, with innovations we see our freedom dwindle less and less as individuals find ways to use our data for personal gains unbeknownst to some, but not all. Some individuals are aware that they are being watched but the benefits of having that technology allow them to turn their head as Big Brother Watches. | | | | |
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< | In his book 1984, George Orwell said “Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution to establish a dictatorship…The object of power is power.” The modernization of the internet and technology is the revolution that Orwell mentions, and the NSA can be viewed as the dictators of our society. Since its creation in 1952, When President Harry S. Truman issued a secret executive order establishing the NSA as the hub of the government’s foreign intelligence activities, the agency has been covertly spying on Americans, listening in on their phone calls, reading their mail, and monitoring their communications. | >
> | In the early 2000s, many households only had access to one computer, and individuals within the home could not use the telephone when they were connected to the internet. In today’s society, kids as young as 5 have access to the world through their handheld devices. Despite the burning sensation from cellphones and software malfunctions from laptops, it would be an extraneous task to try to remove the technology from these individuals. | | | | |
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< | This claim needs some evidence. So far as I know, until after
September 2001 the NSA understood itself as legally prohibited
from listening to Americans within the US. Americans abroad
were supposed to be listened to only where that incidentally
resulted from listening to non-US parties, and strict procedures
for "masking" and "minimizing" were supposed by both outsiders
and NSA lawyers to be absolutely required. This is what changed
after the inception of the "war on terrorism," primarily but not
exclusively during the Bush-Cheney Administration, and at which
Snowden's disclosures, along with other whistles blown by Binney
and Drake, were primarily aimed. I summarized this aspect of the situation in the first part of Snowden and the Future. | >
> | In January 2019, Apple disabled its Group FaceTime? feature in iPhones after multiple reports that users could initiate a FaceTime? call and begin listening in on a recipient’s audio without them picking up the call or knowing they were being monitored. The bug occurred after a user-initiated a FaceTime? video call with another iPhone or device running iOS and added themselves to the call while it was dialing. This created a conference call that allowed the user to eavesdrop on the audio transmitted by the recipient. This security lapse is especially significant because, like other software companies, Apple markets itself as a consumer tech company dedicated to privacy and security. While many of the apps we have on our phones can be beneficial to us, we are sacrificing a lot of our privacy by using these apps. Privacy is slowly diminishing and as kids are growing up in modern society, they will have no concept of privacy. They will also not have the ability to understand that nothing digital is ever forgotten or destroyed. | | | | |
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< | The passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the creation of the FISA Court brought some hope. However, it ultimately did not curtail the NSA’s illegal activities. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, George W. Bush secretly authorized the NSA to conduct warrantless surveillance on American's phone calls and emails. Things did not get any better under President Barack Obama. Violations worsened, with the NSA being authorized to collect internet and telephone data from millions of Americans. It was only after Edward Snowden’s 2013 outburst that the American people fully understood the extent to which they were being betrayed once again. | >
> | After the NSA leaks, Americans were divided about the impact of the leaks immediately following Snowden’s disclosures, but according to a Pew Research Center survey, about half of Americans (49%) said the release of the classified information served the public interest, while 44% said it harmed the public interest. At the same time, 54% of the public said the government should pursue a criminal case against the person responsible for the leaks, a view more commonly held among Republicans and Democrats (59% each) than independents (48%). The share of Americans who disapproved of the government’s collection of telephone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts increased from 47% in the days after the initial disclosure to 53% the following January. Fast forward to today, many people are aware of the lack of privacy that they have when it comes to their technology. It was very prevalent based on user reaction to the Apple FaceTime? bug. Despite this revelation and many others like it, people are still using the same apps that are lacking true privacy. These individuals are willingly accepting privacy policies that are designed to give users ultimatums. | | | | |
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< | Despite all this information that was released, people still use all the technology in the world and carry on like everything is okay. Corporate trackers monitor such things as purchases, web browsing, Facebook posts, and other activities in the cyber world. Certain credit cards are monitored when you purchase things at stores and are mined for data and essentially sold to the highest bidder. Uber’s ride service app knows where you are even when you are not actively using the app. The question is, how can we go on living in a society without these things in our life. If we turn each corner Big Brother is still watching. | | | | |
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< | 1984 has never been so prevalent as it is today. When we eat, drink, sleep or swipe our information is being monitored, but that doesn’t seem to scare people at all. I am at fault for this as well because I still use all of these apps and I still post on social media. However, our generation has gotten so hung up on these things that we feel are the basis of our society. Before the noise of the modem connecting to the internet, we didn’t have access to the world wide web. Before that we didn’t have access to computers, at least I didn’t. Back then we made do with what we had, and we engaged with people because we were living in the moment. As time passed, we saw less and less of that. People today have no sense of engagement and cannot take their eyes off their screens. What a life that will be if people just looked up more often. | >
> | As much as we can blame users for the usage of these apps and other technology that put them at risk, the blame is not solely on them. An analyst described that when a user of apps like WhatsApp? , Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram…etc., grants access to their camera and microphone, the app could do the following: access both the front and back camera; record you at any time the app is in the foreground; take pictures and videos without telling you; and, upload the pictures and videos without telling you. App producers should find ways to put users’ rights first, so their information is not put in jeopardy. Although there are privacy regulations in place, there needs to be better regulations to protect users. As well as details of your device such as the model, name and phone number these trackers can you’re your email address, the IP address that is allocated to your internet connection and even your precise location. Everything from music streaming and weather apps, through to news and storage apps are doing it. | | | | |
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< | I am not sure if there is a true solution to this problem of the modernization of technology. However, there is a solution to Big Brother’s eyes on us and the corporate trackers using our information. We have become so accustomed to having the world in our hands and the thought of giving it up is a hard choice to make. However, it is a choice that we have to make to preserve who we are and preserve our society.
Perhaps the better angle is to ask how much we would not have to give up if we redesigned the technology to put users' rights, including their privacy rights, first rather than last in the objectives of technology design.
I think this is a good first draft. It could use some attention to sentence-level editing. Sentences like Technology has thus demonstrated a consistent trend toward innovations as a result of improving upon current ones. Despite this trend, with innovations we see our freedom dwindle less and less as individuals find ways to use our data for personal gains unbeknownst to some, but not all. could use a little work. But the most important path to improvement is to get the reader over the "tradeoffs between convenience and privacy" speed bump. How much could we have of what we want and still protect our privacy in ways we don't do now? If the reader is informed about that, her life and the lives of those around her might actually change.
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> | A good first step for counteracting these issues is to always make sure to cover your webcam with tape and cover your phone camera when possible. Apps like LinkedIn? does not need camera access. Apps like Twitter does not require microphone access. Before you download an app, check the reviews and search for any negative information about it to prevent yourself from future harm. You never know who’s watching, or what’s happening in the background on your device. You do not want to take precautions when it is too late. | | | |
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