Blog #7 Privacy Online & Off

    It is important for people to become more aware of digital privacy. Tracking and surveillance are part of our daily lives, and being just aware of this type of privacy may not even be enough. According to Juan Enriquenz society now ultimately does not have privacy. Wherever you go there can be data that is pilled up on you. He uses the idea of "tattoos" to show we are marked online like someone is marked with tattoos. This is through the updated facial recognition getting your data pulled up within seconds from just a picture. This can be seen as good in certain aspects like finding a criminal and using surveillance to identify them. However, every person is so easily tracked and identifiable.    While in Catherine Crump's Ted Talk She is discussing the use of license plate tracking in the policing system, which is utilized to collect data on our daily activities like going to church or shops. The government and other digital software companies have integrated other forms of surveillance into various aspects of our lives. For instance, cell phones have the capability of wiretapping, which involves intercepting and recording our personal texts and calls. Such data can also be hacked, thereby compromising our privacy. This issue is further elaborated in Christopher Soghoian's Ted Talk.    These issues affect me, my friends, and my family as we spend a lot of time online. It's concerning that everything we do online is always recorded and cannot be fully deleted. Whether it's for entertainment or communicating with my parents, I'm constantly on my phone, computer, or iPad. Even the information we research or read online requires us to accept "terms and conditions", which often gives the government access to our data and internet activity.    I think the government needs to take action to deal with the problem at hand. While it may help catch criminals, it's also violating the privacy of individuals. I'm not sure how the government can fix this, but I believe they could improve the situation somewhat. The only other way to protect our privacy would be to stay offline and never leave our homes, which isn't realistic.