The Issue of Privacy

Privacy has become almost non-existent in the current age. Every website, social media platform, stores, and even just your phone, collects data about you, your habits, your interests, and your location. These major companies, and the government, know more information about you now more than ever.

It is impossible to avoid the surveillance in today’s society. Even when you just drive your car around, the government is able to collect data and use it to track where you go, for how long, and how often. In her TED Talk, Catherine Crump claims that in places like New York City, the police department especially targets specific communities to gather their data. The NYPD has driven by Mosques with their license plate reading technology to see who is attending. These departments will then store the information they gathered “just in case” it is needed in the future.

This clear violation of privacy affects everyone. The issue is that the government itself is using this data to compile reports on every citizen, so, how would we solve this issue? Catherine Crump argues that in order to start fixing it, it starts with the city council. The council is able to pass a law for police departments to delete unnecessary data on innocent citizens. In your private life, you can opt to use devices or apps that are encrypted, meaning they are not easy to survey. iPhones are one of these devices that are fairly secure. WhatsApp is an app that is also available to avoid surveillance while communicating with friends, family, and work. On your computers, you can apply VPNs to your technology which will create an ‘encrypted tunnel’ that prevents tracing.

There are many steps you can take to prevent your civil liberties from being violated. While it may take a little bit of extra work, it is definitely worth the hassle.