By Brian Lee
Do you remember when there was privacy? Not long ago, we expected secret things like passwords or the photo of you in your wife’s lingerie to be safe inside your home.
But if one clear and ominous trend emerged in 2014, it was the fact that we can no longer control much of what we used to consider private. As we wrestle with the implications of the recent Sony hacking episode, iCloud private photo spills and the all too frequent government data breaches, last month we were told Samsung’s smart TVs listen to us.
From Samsung’s privacy policy for its voice recognition capable and Internet-connected Smart TV line:
"Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition."
Since this TV also has a camera that can be accessed remotely, experts suggest it’s possible a hacker could assume control and watch you too. So now, not only is everything on your computer available to Kim Jong-un or the NSA but it’s possible someone is listening to you silly-talk with the dog while watching hockey.
And so what? If you’re not breaking any laws, you have nothing to hide, right? Security camera use has encouraged governments and corporations to pour millions into polishing facial recognition software. Experts predict that soon your face could be tracked just about everywhere you go.
And we’re tracked now. Even Disneyland security knows when you’re getting a photo taken with Goofy or browsing the gift shop thanks to a radio frequency ID chip embedded in your wrist band. But you also carry one in your credit cards and keyless entry car fob. I read recently that thieves can learn your PIN by reading the infrared heat signatures left by your fingers on the ATM keys. How? With an iPhone, of course.
We forfeit an incredible amount of control when agreeing to the privacy policies required to access our digital delights. In the documentary "Terms and Conditions May Apply," it was calculated that to read those privacy policies, we would need to spend 180 hours every year. So it’s no surprise that we don’t. As we become increasingly dependent on digital services like Facebook, apps, LinkedIn, Amazon, Twitter, etc., we’ve accepted that privacy is the currency in which we pay.
And our privacy is valuable.According to the documentary, the value of data collected from each person using Google is $500 per year. And Google just tracks your Internet use, unlike Facebook which has the world’s largest known database of personal information and photos — all with your name attached to it. Delete your account — but your photos will remain in their servers.
For a creepy read, pick up Thomas P. Keenan’s Techno Creep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy. Keenan is touted as "one of the world’s top computer security experts" but after scaring the bejesus out of you for 200-plus pages, his advice? Be careful.
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