Living a metropolitan city like New York City (especially after 9/11) digital surveillance is something we encounter daily in various ways from surveillance and store cameras to tourists recording their time in our city. We are constantly being watched and monitored and even though we don’t call attention to it, it still in the back of our minds.
During the week, I’ve visited numerous websites like Groupon, J. Crew, Yahoo Mail and Capital One. I have noticed when I check my emails, the ads section on the left was an ad of the recent shopping site I visited and along with that I also received a bunch of emails about credit cards offers from different companies. This calls to Andrejevic’s concept of market surveillance, they used my previous history online to lure me back to purchase more from that site, he calls it “predictive analytics”, he quotes “As one accounts puts it, “predictive analytics” – the attempt to unearth correlations from mountains of data – “uses past behaviour and complex algorithms to anticipate future behaviour by customer segments in a way that cannot be accurately performed using human intuition” (Business Times 2010, 8)” (Page 281).
I had a friend who downloaded a bunch of illegal movies and music that was available online for free, and unaware that those activities were illegal and ignore the warnings from Homeland Security, due to his ignorance, he was then lock out of his phone. (A relatable article.) This shows the digital authorities that takes place today without walls, which I find to be violating our personal “privacy” which isn’t so private. Foucault quotes “The disciplinary society, then, is a prison both within and without walls. One outcome of disciplinary action on this mass scale is ‘govern-mentality’, a new form of impersonal, rationalized, authoritarian rule.” (Page 211 – 212)
1) What kind of illegal online activities do you participate in knowingly or unknowingly?
2) Are you aware that Homeland Security have the power to lock you out of your own phone?
1. I used to participate in LimeWire when it was the primary source of illegal music streaming. LimeWire always ran the risk of giving you viruses, but it was free. I do understand why it’s not right, because the people who distribute a service should be able to monetize on it, not have it stolen.
2. I am aware that Homeland Security has that power, and it doesn’t concern me. I find that more comforting than not, because at least I know if theres someone who would harm us, they can take preventative measures
I love watching movies illegally it saves me money and allows me to watch them within the comfort of my own home. That example that you gave in your post was shocking to me. I’ve never heard about Homeland Security being able to lock our phones like that, I find it alarming. It really proves that our online activity is being watched. It’s never happened to me and I really hope that it doesn’t.
Back in late middle school or early high school I remember using Limewire and Frostwire to download songs. It was probably the worst mistake ever cause I ended up with over 100 viruses in my already terrible computer. Now that technology and I are smarter, I download songs off Youtube sometimes, I still participate in buying physical albums. I never received threats from Homeland Security, so I think your friend was extremely unlucky. But it’s surprising to see that Homeland Security takes action, at all, against piracy; it’s sad to acknowledge that too.