The Great Hack

I have thought about the crazy idea that my microphone is listening to conversations in order to curate ads specifically for me on my phone. However, as explained in the documentary, our phones are taking information on us all the time to predict what you like, it’s not really listening to you.

This is the same thing that is presented in the documentary “The Social Dilemma.” Please see my post about that movie for further clarification of my next couple comments. “The Social Dilemma” presents the internet, and the AI the curates ads specifically for you on your phone as a big problem. The documentary explains how this, seemingly good idea of the AI putting things on your screen that will interest you, has turned into the very thing that has started the development of internet and phone/tablet/computer addiction. This addiction has been very profitable for those that created these addictive social media spaces, which is why nothing has been put in place to stop or prevent this addiction.

The documentary, “The Great Hack” also talks about this profitability of the endless amount of information we leave on the internet due to our addiction and lack of desire to read the privacy terms (please see my post on privacy terms and agreements).

How does this affect our future? How does this constant stream of our information being sold to tech companies affect us?

The 2016 election is a great example on how this affects us.

“Who is feeding us fear?”

Facebook ads curated by the political parties and paid for to be published on FaceBook. How do you send people personalized messages without having their data? You can’t. Cambridge Analytica was the brains behind the Trump campaign’s dispersal of personalized messages. They have used a survey to gather 5,000 data points to help predict what every American adult will do. Because, “personality determines behavior, and behavior determines how you vote” as said by Alexander Nix.

What is the data that they have on us? What else are theses companies using it for? Can we have access to this data? David Carroll had to take legal action in order to even ask for his information from Cambridge Analytica.

This brings up the question of privacy rights under the constitution. The fourth amendment protects your right to privacy, this should include all types of privacy, including your right to privacy online. However, does this not fall under constitutional protections when it comes to tech companies based outside of the US? Do we give permission for our data to be collected and therefore waive our fourth amendment rights to privacy online when we “agree” to those lengthy terms and conditions and privacy contracts that we never read? Do we “agree” to not be able to see the information and now what it is being used for when we click “agree” on the contracts mentioned previously?

There aren’t ways around these contracts. You can’t create a FaceBook account without “agreeing” to their privacy and terms and conditions contracts. There is no amendment process, or picking and choosing what you allow or don’t allow the company to collect on you. Is it therefore our responsibility to stay off social medias if we want our privacy to remain private? Do the companies have protections under the constitution and US regulations to collect data and not hand it over? Should there be more regulations on what these companies can do with our data? Should there be an amendment process to these privacy and terms and conditions contracts? Should these contracts have a feature where you can pick and choose what is looked at and collected by the company?

These are the many questions I have about the legality of the social media and data collection world.