Privacy in Today's World
Todays world is run by technology and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google, and many more. The ideas that gave birth to these things have forever changed the way we communicate. Most importantly, they have changed our personal privacy. Today, everyone, unless they are completely off the grid, which is extremely unlikely, has a lot of information online. Overtime we search for something, or do something as simple as sending an email, we are sending out our personal information.
Whats scary is that the data we willingly send out lasts forever. Our data will inevitably outlive us after we are long gone. We also increasingly have no control over our data and privacy. The newer generations have been taught to share everything online. We couldn't go a day without checking our various social media sites, and constantly share what we are doing in our lives. In 20 years, word privacy is going to mean something completely different for the older and younger internet users.
Before communication technology such as email, we sent letters to speak with people. Now, when we send an email, we are essentially sending a postcard. This is due to the fact that the contents in the email we send are able to be viewed easily. People like internet providers, email providers and the government could potentially see what is contained in the emails you send. Any government can access your information without you being aware of it.
Today, our business model is not compatible with privacy. If we want privacy online, the only way to succeed is getting the whole world on board. Steps need to be done to make privacy more accessible and secure. A start to this is the technology for ProtonMail. This is a way to send messages without a server being able to read the emails that are sent.
An example of why our privacy needs to be better protected is the Kayla doll, which is marketed towards children as a toy. This doll connects to the internet and talks to kids as their friends. It listens to and steals information, which they in turn use for advertising and share with third parties. Anyone with a smart phone can connect to it within a certain distance, showing how weak its security is. This becomes an issue when potential creepy people could access the doll and tell the child to "come out and play."
This doll is banned in many countries and was removed from Amazon and Walmart shelves. This is a classic example of why we as a society need to pay closer attention to what data we are sending out, as well as what we are agreeing to every time we download a new app. We need to demand more understandable agreement terms before we click that accept button and protect our fundamental right to privacy.
https://www.ted.com/talks/andy_yen_think_your_email_s_private_think_again/up-next
https://www.ted.com/talks/finn_lutzow_holm_myrstad_how_tech_companies_deceive_you_into_giving_up_your_data_and_privacy/up-next
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