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Facebook: Big Brother is Watching | | |
“Big Brother is watching you.” This quote from George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four ("1984") novel strikes fear into the hearts and minds of readers. In 1984, Orwell describes a society where everyone is under complete surveillance by a totalitarian state. Readers of Orwell’s novel were provided a portrayal of the dangers that this constant monitoring of citizens by a government entity can pose. In fact, just last year Justice Breyer referenced this novel when questioning the validity of the government’s argument that it should be able to use GPS tracking of U.S. citizens without seeking a warrant. | |
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< | 1984 highlights the dangers that a government may pose, but the question remains as to whether these concerns are mitigated when the same activity is engaged in by a private entity? Today, although various companies have the ability to compile vast amounts of data on individuals, perhaps no company is currently receiving as much attention as Facebook. Although much of Facebook’s publicity surrounds its recent IPO, less attention has been given to how Facebook operates. That is, who holds its data, who sells it, who reprocesses it, and in what manner these activities are performed. Rather than being concerned with Facebook’s stock price, a more important concern is whether Facebook is watching you and what implications this may have on you, the user, and the public at large. | >
> | Though many comprehend the dangers that government monitoring can pose, scholars and individuals today fail to see that these same dangers and risks will be imposed when such monitoring is engaged in by a private entity. Specifically, the data aggregation and storage engaged in by Facebook, and other entities like it, can and will inflict the same risks to the population. To support this statement, let us first begin by examining Facebook's operations. That is, who holds its data, who sells it, who reprocesses it, and in what manner these activities are performed. | | | Facebook learns about you not just from your own activity on Facebook, but also from information others share about you. Though Facebook knows what pages you view, what links you click, among other factors, a more troubling aspect of Facebook is that it is able to determine your location. With the increased use of Facebook on mobile devices, this means that not only does Facebook know everything you choose to share and everything your “friends” share about you, it also knows where you are almost every waking (and un-waking) minute. Highlighting Facebook’s grasp on your life, it is even able to scan the faces of people in posted pictures and compare the faces with its data to determine who is in the picture. Though Facebook states the purpose of this technology is simply to suggest that the individual innocently tag you in the picture, the combination of Facebook’s capabilities with its access to your information makes you wonder "who could be watching." | | | Though clear that Facebook represents an opportunity for abuse of individuals' right to privacy, it must be noted that Facebook is not unique. Many other companies, such as Google, pose a threat. Additionally, the threat is not limited to internet based companies. For example, Microsoft's Kinect, which is a motion capturing camera used by individuals in conjunction with the X-Box 360, allows Microsoft to view your activity in your own home (reminiscent of the cameras placed in each citizens' home in 1984). Microsoft subsequently sells that data, albeit only in numerical, and not video, form, to third parties, most of whom are advertisers. | |
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< | Although some may argue that the odds of such privacy abuses are low, they are overlooking the gravity of the situation if such concerns were to become a reality. The correct inquiry is not just an examination into the abuses that monitoring has caused, but rather we must examine if the risks posed by such monitoring are so great as to make the monitoring itself unjustifiable. Look out my friends, “Big Brother could be watching.”
This is a capable and forcefully-written summary of available
information, structured by a metaphor, which comes from Orwell. What
is the idea you want to contribute to the discussion? The sentences
that supposedly bear your meaning are tentative, subjunctive in mood
where they aren't "some may argue" slippery in content. What the
next draft needs is your point, made clearly to start with,
developed, and then offered to the reader in conclusion, for further
exploration.
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> | Skeptics argue that the odds of such privacy abuses are low, but they are overlooking the gravity of the situation if such concerns were to become a reality. The correct inquiry is not just an examination into the abuses that monitoring has caused, but rather we must examine if the risks posed by such monitoring are so great as to make the monitoring itself unjustifiable. For the reasons discussed above, I believe the harm to outweigh the benefit, and I urge readers to reflect upon the risks and dangers that Facebook poses not just to themselves, but to society as a whole. Look out my friends, “Big Brother could be watching.” | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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