As we delve further into the digital age, one central concern is brought up every time – privacy. As citizens of the United States of America, privacy is a right that we’ve never been conscious about. What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours. In fact, people have taken it for granted. All of a sudden, the computer is invented and internet shortly thereafter, and one by one, we’re sharing personal information about ourselves. In the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply, the director of the CIA admits that he is surprised the general populous would be so forthcoming in giving out their personal information. Race, age, even religious beliefs are now plastered onto every social media platform, society as a whole is becoming more self conscious about who they are and what they believe in, and information is being circulated like never before. What a time to be alive.
But the problem lies within the government and other surveilling entities that hold on to this information. In the documentary, Cullen Hoback shares a narrative criticizing these entities for misusing the information we trust them to keep. One story depicts a failing toy store decides to sell their client list of 150,000 people with their names, age, and addresses. This shocked the public because in fine print, the toy store promised them that their information would never be disclosed. Governments and media companies have a long history of abusing this information as well. From international cases like Edward Snowden and the NSA, to smaller ones like tabloids hacking into the phone of a murdered school girl to get the inside scoop, we slowly realize that the government does not always have the public’s best interest at heart. These stories really surprised me because we hold the government and corporations at a higher standard, but never check up on them until the damage is done. Is it possible for us to make sure that our private information is being stored safely?
The relation between economic systems and the system of government control shown in “Terms and Conditions May Apply” is that the minority controls the majority. In the documentary, we see people getting their rights violated without their knowledge. The government sends people to jail because of an innocent tweet, while others are having their personal information being sold to the highest bidder. Just like in economic systems, capitalist societies have a handful of corporations dictating the flow of information from the millions of people, while communist societies take away people’s rights in the name of public safety.
Now that I am aware of this, I often wonder: how will I protect my privacy? I just hope that one day, and some day soon, we will be able to have committees/organizations in place to ensure that surveilling entities are not infringing on our privacy.
Questions:
- When it comes to privacy, how can we, the people being surveilled, make sure government entities do not abuse their power?
- Is it possible to create a checks and balance system between the surveillers (digital companies) and surveilled (the people)?