Privacy in the Digital Age

    The Ted talks about privacy revealed shocking information about what the government and different people can have access to based on the calls you make, the things you post, the places you drive to, and the messages you send. In today's world, communication relies heavily on technology, but privacy is being invaded through these technologies. 

The issues of the invasion of privacy through technology affect everyone. As a young adult who uses social media, the idea of a digital footprint is very prominent to my life. In the Ted Talk spoken by Juan Enriquez, he uses the metaphor of a digital tattoo. There is so much information that can be found out about a person through the internet even without speaking to that person. What we post everyday can never fully be taken away, and that information can be tracked. The ted talk by Catherine Crump reveals how license plates are tracked constantly. The story about a man who found out the police had information about everywhere he went, even a picture of him and his daughters getting out of his car in their own driveway, was especially shocking. This is an issue that is close to everyone. My friends, family, and I all drive places. Although none of us have legally done anything that would need to be tracked by the government or police, they have information about anywhere we have driven. This is concerning to think about because private information is not private anymore. The Ted talk by Christopher Soghoian talked about wiretapping and how the government has access to phone conversations. Everyone uses messages, calls, and other types of electronic communication to talk to friends, family, doctors, and more. Not only is the government able to access these conversations, but so is any intelligence agency that hacks into the wiretapping. To me, this is concerning because why are my conversations, as a nineteen year old, able to be so easily accessed? 

The government should not have access to this information. The government should enforce laws that make local police stations delete the data of innocent people and their whereabouts. There should also be laws protecting cyber harassment through the sharing of private images. Encryption features in telephone companies should be enforced to protect private conversations between people, and to protect people from other governments being able to access this information.

There are many things that people can do to protect themselves. Some companies have encryption software in place that makes it extremely difficult for the government to access electronic information. People should research which communication companies have these softwares and use them. Another thing people can do is to be extremely aware of their digital footprint. Think before you post something and understand that nothing truly goes away forever on the internet.