The possibility of anonymity online is quickly
trickling down, as privacy features are becoming more and more nonexistent. According
to CNNMoney, the government is “spying” on its
own citizens' online activities (Pagliery, 2013). The National Security Agency has access to
just about every private conversation, viewed history and infinite number of
posts online. Even the Tor network, the internet that is beyond the internet
and the most secretive way to browse the Web, can be seen by the NSA.
Does this really come as a surprise? The internet is a free book
of public records, holding a much higher mass of private information. The ability
to remain faceless is almost impossible. Even Facebook, the number one social
networking site, has axed its privacy setting that allowed people to hide their
profiles from other users in the search bar (Wallace, 2013). Yet, the
internet continues to reign as a means to communicate. Beyond that, now the
government sees it all. “The U.S. government issues frequent,
secret demands for customer data from telecommunications companies (Pagliery,
2013).” As discussed in class, search engines like Google, MSN and Yahoo would
share private information if asked by higher authorities.
Do
people care? Do they even know? Privacy is strength to those looking for
careers or attempting to hold a strong reputation or even just to stay safe. Knowing
the government is eyeing each and every citizen online may change the direction
in communication and keep private issues outside of the screens.
Looking towards the
future, passed all the third party cookies and the “secure” hyper text transfer
protocols, the internet is a complete surveillance camera. The options for
society are very limited, as stated by the article. “There's still a benefit to
guarding yourself with a network like Tor (Pagliery, 2013).” Tor users can only be shut down one by one
instead of large groups; however, even the Tor network has
the ability to be found. If users slowly log off the internet, the World Wide
Web could lose it popularity. The Web will never overpower the means of
face-to-face conversing. The oldest method for communicating may be the most effective
(and private). Luckily, in a continuously changing society, the Web is not
always a credible source for such information. A study conducted showed that at
least 13% of users provide false information about themselves online. Real or
fake, the government is watching and online privacy is slipping down the drain.
No comments:
Post a Comment