I input where do you get your news: Theglobeandmail.com and where do I waste my time: Tumblr. On the news site there were 10, and on tumblr there was only one. The two sites had no connections. Trackers store data about the sites a user visits so behavioral advertisers can profile and target, all without the users knowledge. Third parties sell data to gain power; they also gain power by influencing what you see. Third parties also store data to compare people. These comparisons are used to make assumptions about not only you but other people as well. Trackers operate on American profiles so that they can optimize the amount of products sold. Your data footprint impacts you as well as others. Assumptions are made about you and others in response to what data is collected.
The question of if one can avoid being tracked is a difficult one to address. Some would argue that in order to be a part of society, one must own a phone and therefore is subject to being tracked. Others would say that there are precautions one can take to avoid being tracked and still own a phone. There are even those would argue that in order to be free of tracking one must defy the social norm and give up electronics. Personally, I think that it is close to impossible to avoid being tracked. If one would like to avoid being tracked, they would have to go through extensive procedures or dramatically change their every day behavior in order to drop off the radars.
There are a number of resources available to help one avoid being tracked. These resources can help protect you in a number of ways. Some allow you to block applications that would share your data without your consent, like Ghostery and Disconnect.me . Others make you aware of who is tracking you, like Lightbeam and Trackography. These are just a few examples, there are many more. Some resources are only available to specific countries, so it is important to research what protection is available where you live.
When your data is currency, your privacy costs you a lot. By restricting what information you give out, you are keeping your data confidential but in effect you are limiting what you are able to do both online and offline. For example, many smartphone apps require you to agree to their terms and conditions before you can use them. Often there is something in the terms and conditions that give permission for the app to monitor you, granting it access to your data. In order to avoid this, you could choose not to download and use the app; however, this would be limiting yourself from the app and whatever services the app provides. Just as Linda Holms said, “ our willingness to submit to surveillance in return for benefits may set our level of outrage or our level of willingness to do business”. Depending on how dedicated you are to protecting your privacy, you will make more or less effort to control your data. In order to protect your privacy, you must make sacrifices.
Do not track’s goal was to “enable internet users to turn off invasive tracking quickly and easily”. Do not track made a request to servers to not track or collect any information from the user. However, online tracking brings in a large profit. Large companies and corporations did not comply to this request because they would rather make a profit.
The Internet was free to access in the past and people wanted to make a profit, so what is called the original sin was committed. Pop up ads and cookies were invented so that tracking could be made easier. In order to compete with TV and other entertainment industries, online companies and sites needed to know more about their consumers than other companies.
Cookies are text files that remember the user the next time they come back to a site. This helps build a user profile that companies use in order to obtain a profit. Cookies are used to target the ads people see every day. The method that cookies use are considered not to be like wire tapping and is permissible. The Internet may seem like it is free, but users pay with their data. First part cookies are useful to the site an individual is visiting. Third party cookies are cookies from sites other than the one an individual is on but that are still collecting data. Zombie cookies reinstall themselves even after they have been deleted.
In order to cater to the individual, the data collected is processed. Websites then communicate this information to one another to optimize what products and advertisements are put out to the viewer for consumption. Pop up ads were a success for a short amount of time. People then began to ignore pop up ads because they were in a different window and could easily be closed. Online advertising has evolved by specifically targeting individuals and tracking them in order to make educated guesses about what ads would be most effective. Tracking being ruled as not an invasion of privacy was the main enabler of this. The use of tracking enabled online advertising to dramatically expand and improve.
The Internet is now aiding companies in turning over a large profit by catering to individuals and showing them effective ads. There is now a large presence of economy on the Internet, which before was not true. Companies were not sure how effective putting ads for their products on the Internet would be, and now, it’s surprising if a successful company does not utilize online advertising. One could block cookies in their browser, use an add-on, or avoid the Internet. No other alternatives were mentioned, but I do not doubt there are other options I am unaware of.
I am extremely cheap, so I wouldn’t want to pay for alternatives. If I had to, I wouldn’t pay more than $20 for a yearly alternate to Google or more than $5 for Facebook. The thought of paying for services on the Internet is outside my social norm and so it makes me uneasy to imagine that as a reality.
Getting cookies to stop following you from site to site does not necessarily have a one quick click fix. In order to rid yourself of already existing cookies and preventing future cookies from collecting your data, there a few steps you can take. First of all, you can take the most obvious step and block third-party cookies in your browser. This process varies for each Internet provider, but all are fairly simple procedures. Another step one could take that requires more research is finding and using an add-on. There are many different add-ons available to use, so it is important to make sure you are using one that is reliable. Although these techniques will bypass cookies from advertisers, social medias still are able to track your activities and so they are not completely effective. Escaping cookies can be a strenuous process. So strenuous that some would suggest that in order to avoid being tracked by cookies, one should just refrain from using the Internet. Although this may be the most effective method, it is at the cost of all the Internet has to offer. I personally do not think it is worth giving up the Internet to fully ensure your privacy.
Many things can be deduced using data collected including, but not limited to, one’s character, sexual orientation, political opinion, race, gender, and IQ. Some traits it can pick up include personality, happiness, sexual promiscuity, obesity, and how likely you are to smoke or vote.
Agencies like Lenndo use this information to decide if they should give out a loan to an individual based on how reliable they seem to be and how likely they are to pay it back based on their social media account. As of right now there are no health insurances that work by analyzing individual’s social media, but some believe that this is a tactic not far from the future. The purpose was to show how information you provide online can be interpreted and can affect you in the future. It analyses how likely you are to do something based on who you are and who you associate yourself with then takes action according to the perceived risk. Banks can deduce if you are likely to repay a loan and insurance companies can deduce how likely you are to engage in risk taking activities.
Algorithms are said to show your character. Some analyze what profiles look similar to the one provided while others figure out how people are connected. The man in the video from Stanford believed there are social benefits to algorithms. He said that people with o credit, no financial past will benefit because banks can assume what type of person they are from their social media despite their lack of financial past. He also says that It will help discourage stereotyping due to gender, race, or sexual orientation.
We can control our second digital self to a small extent, as much as we can control our real self. However, the significance is great because it links all that we do online to who we are when we are in the flesh and offline. It seems as though we are not protected well; the laws in place do very little to protect users. In fact, there have been efforts to have even less strict laws in place. The laws have not been modernized and are calling for change.
Facebook collects data from you. This data collection happens not only when you are logged in, but also when you have logged out, and even if you have never had an account on their site. The use of cookies and plug-ins help to increase profit by using targeted advertisements. Facebook owns extensive sites and this only adds to the ways a user can be tracked. Facebook also uses information from your browsing history. Although Facebook may deny their tracking practices, evidence shows that, no, you are not safe, even if you don’t have a profile.
This tracking continues into what you do on Facebook. Liking pages on Facebook is very common. I think the phrase ‘you are what you like’ means that you are defined and stereotyped based on what you chose to like on Facebook. By publicly announcing that you are interested in something by liking their page, you are automatically assigning yourself to a group. Companies can use your public announcement on Facebook to gather information about you and profile you according to your activity and the activity of others who also liked the page. Analyzing an individual’s ‘likes’ can lead to many assumptions, and companies looking to gain profit often use these assumptions to push sales.
In this sense, liking can be an economic act. Algorithms are used to predict what a user will like. It would be impossible to literally like everything on Facebook. However, if one were to like everything they came across on Facebook, their feed would quickly change. They would be exposed to more and more of whatever it was that they liked, to many more advertisements, and to opinions that heavily lean to one side or the other. Not only would it change the user’s feed, but it also would change the feed of the user’s friends. The unlucky friends would begin to see more and more of what the user had liked.
Apps are described as being like little spies in your pocket that observe and report where you are and what you’re doing. There a few things apps need from you to function. First, they need to be downloaded. Then they need you to accept the terms and conditions. Next, they need you to grant permissions.
I said I have about 10 apps downloaded which was below average of 26. Then I said I would trust some friends with my phone which translated to me being concerned about my privacy. Lastly, I said I would be really bummed if I lost my phone and that it’s happened to me before. The response was that they hoped it wouldn’t happen again. At first I thought that was a kind comment, but the more I thought about it the creepier I believed the comment was.
Google said that they “use various technologies to locate you including ip address, gps signals, and other sensors that allow us to identify particular devices by wifi access points access points in cell towers in the vicinity”. This tracking can be disabled but it doesn’t delete what has already been collected and doesn’t stop wifi from sharing your location. Information like where you are, what your interests are, and many other things that help decide what ads you should be shown can be found in this data. This paints a picture of who you are and how you interact with the world around you. Free wifi spots send out a lot of information about you and creates a story of who you are. This enables companies to know their consumer better and figure out who they are, how they move around, and what for.
Jokes often have been put into the terms of use. The terms of use also often include subtle grants to various parts of your phone, such as access to your photos and location.
By layering different forms of tracking, your identity can be found. Also, those who wish to know more about you can infer and discover by combining things like your social media and texts with your contacts and location to know what you are doing.
Participants in a peaceful protest in Russia received a text that acknowledged and recorded that they were a part of the illegal activity. The individual can be tracked and moderated. Their context can be recreated and intentions can be deduced. Behavior and identity are being tracked. Behavior is tracked more than identity because one can figure out identity through behavior.
There are pretty much no opportunities to opt out of this. One can either accept that they are being tracked and use a phone, or avoid being tracked and not use a phone. Industries compete for who is able to track us. However the answer should be that no one should be able to track us.
A smartphone can be a risk to privacy because practically everything that is done on those electronics is being tracked. Your information is often given out without your knowledge. It is difficult to protect your smartphone when almost every function you use is reporting or storing data. However, it is not impossible. There are a few ways to protect your smartphone that are already on your phone. You can disable location services as well as limit ad tracking with only a few taps. Another way to protect you from being tracked is to limit yourself. You can limit yourself by obtaining from connecting to free Wi-Fi. You also can download only what you need and not everything you want. If you have less apps on your phone, you will have a lower likelihood of being tracked. Some apps you could consider downloading are ones that will inform you when you are being tracked. These apps will not prevent the tracking from taking place, but they will notify you of when it is happening and by whom. One example of this type of app is Clueful by Bitdefender.
Big Data Inside the Algorithm
Algorithms track and categorize. They can potentially show who we are. They compile and analyze information to do things like predict crime, advance our society, and produce and store information. A new economy has emerged where currency is the exchanging of data, which is sorted through algorithms.
Google Instant search defines big data as “a broad term for data sets so large or complex that traditional data processing applications are inadequate”. It is a new way to understand the people around us, and the data they provide about themselves and others. Many people believe the myth that big data is when there is more data than we know how to deal with. Others falsely believe that with more data any problem can be solved. It is problematic because people assume anything can be accomplished with data and so we need to collect as much as possible. In reality, it’s more important how data is cleaned and analyzed and by whom this is done by.
They relate because algorithms are what help show correlation. People are categorized, sometimes incorrectly to the disadvantage of the individual. There is great risk for those who are in the minority for discrimination. Some people are even criminalized.They are related to advertising by helping shape stereotypes in the media as well as appealing to certain people in specific ways due to generalization.
I watched a video about babies and how all their vital signs are recorded and stored. In the second data point connection, I read about how Nicholas Cage and drowning can appear to be correlated if there is enough data, proving that more data doesn’t always mean more accuracy.
The interpreters give data a voice. The data means nothing until someone gives it a meaning and a purpose. Personal bias and misinterpretation can lead to data sending the wrong message about a person, place, or thing. In the future, algorithms could be used for crime prediction, assumptions for how healthy someone will be in the future, guessing how well people will get along before they meet, and many other uses.
We are being categorized through the use of big data and algorithms. These algorithms stereotype the user by relating the data collected from their activity to the data and activity of others. By compiling and analyzing data and through the use of logical assumption, it is determined what the user likes and is most likely to buy. There are a few resources one can use to be aware of what advertisements directly target you. One example of this is Floodwatch, which helps one retrace their browsing practices.
Although these categorizations are often harmless, there are cases where issues may arise from these groupings. Racial stereotyping is common, even in the police force. Some people believe that the new computers being used in the police force to find potentially dangerous individuals through algorithms may help eliminate this injustice, while others believe it is enforcing it. People are being targeted as potential threats, even before they have committed any crime and are put under a “heat list”, much like in the movie ‘Minority Report’ where people are charged with murder even before they kill anyone simply because a pre-cog predicted it.
Janet Vertesi made huge lifestyle changes when she decided to hide her pregnancy from big data. She started by not sharing the news online and asking others to also avoid posting anything relating to her pregnancy. She then took precautions to make sure what she bought would not be tracked, mainly by buying as much as she could with cash. She said the whole process was “extremely impractical and very inconvenient” as well as “not cost-effective”. In my opinion I think it would not be worth all the effort to hide from big data.
Big data could significantly help promote civil rights. With the proper use, it could inspire equality and opportunity for all as well as bring attention to injustices. By bringing attention to what is unjust, there is a higher likelihood that the problem will be addressed. However, this is not usually how big data is used. Instead, it often profiles individuals and potentially harmful assumptions are created.
There are a large number of algorithms used in every day life. According to Marcos Otero, there are about ten that “dominate our world”. One of the algorithm types he addresses are the sorting algorithms: merge, quick, and heap. Algorithms are based off many different things. Dijkstra’s algorithm is one based on graphing, integer factorization is one based on math, and the RSA algorithm is based off cryptography. There are many other types of algorithms, but these are a few that Otero deems most important.
A filter bubble is when what you see on the Internet is altered depending on personalization. This personalization is created by who your friends are, what you like, what your views are, and how you choose to be informed, among other things. It very heavily impacts what we see online. Your version of the truth is different than the truth someone else sees. It is constructed based on who you ‘like’ and similarities with friends among many other factors. It utilizes who your friends are, what your interests are, what you want to see, and how you want to see it. It impacts the truth because when you only see a select view, you will not be able to make an informed decision about the truth because in order to do that one must view and be educated on both sides. We miss out on views that are in opposition to our own as well as information that could help change out mind. We also miss out on what we may not be interested in or aware of, but should know about in order to make an informed decision. Additionally, we miss out on how different people view the same event. People put filters over what they post that shift how the post is perceived.
What we view is what we want to see and what we view from our friends, meaning that we chose what we want to see and not editors. We no longer are restricted to what we see, and yet we restrict ourselves. Optimization is what gives the viewer the best thing that they can and should view. However this optimization can change depending on what people are optimizing toward. I believe we are optimizing for clicks and traffic more than we are for an informed public. People would rather view the world through rose-colored glasses and see only what they want to see more often than they would like to understand the entirety of a situation.
People form a social norm of almost always only viewing things one-way without considering the other side of the argument. If individuals were to spread information for the better of the community and not to show how you feel or to promote your own biases, we would have a much more educated public.
When we confine ourselves inside a “filter bubble”, we are not exposed to information that may be against our own beliefs. Eli Parsier believes that this over-personalization means that the Internet shows us what it thinks we want to see, but not necessarily what we need to see. He thinks that the Internet and it’s algorithms are being the gate-keepers of what information we see, and that because these gate-keepers are no longer human, they lack “embedded ethics”. Although this bubble may give you a plethora of feel good stories or articles you can agree with, it does very little to challenge your ideas and broaden your perspective, which is damaging to the growth and education of the population.
As information has become much more easily accessible over the Internet, people no longer want to pay to receive information. Mass media is undergoing a huge revolution and news is no longer the same for everyone. Since the Internet tracks users and personalizes their browsing experience based on algorithms, people are no longer being informed about important world events.
Facebook claims that this filter has little to do with algorithms, and has much more to do with who a user is friends with and what the user clicks on. I think this is true to an extent. Although we are obviously limited to who we meet and then chose to become friends with, there is almost no limit on what information we can obtain from the Internet. By only showing what Facebook deems as relevant to one’s personal profile, they limit the information flow to the user.
Facebook has gone to extreme measures to design its new feed algorithm and to cater to the user. Their goal is to identify and then show the user what they most enjoy. Since Facebook wants its users to spend as much time as possible on their website, they cater to what they believe the user wants to see and therefore will stay online longer to view. This results in Facebook choosing not to show the user information that will upset them or cause them to log off. Instead, Facebook is more likely to show you what they believe you want to see, which is usually what is popular among others and information that lines up with your beliefs.
There are steps you can take to step outside of your filter bubble. One of these steps is to use a search engine that is not tailored to you and only you, but rather breaks you from what you normally would see and exposes you to other information. Another could be to purposefully click on things you may not agree with, to broaden the span of what you are exposed to.
To Change the Future Click Here
People believed that the Internet would improve life, inspire change in everyday life and thoughts and that it could even lengthen life. It was also believed that any service or any bit of information could be moved online and that despite this, the Internet was user controlled. Lastly, people believed that the globe would come together to form a more unified and powerful society. In reality the Internet has created a machine for spying. It’s odd to think the NSA uses the same Internet that you do to look up funny cat videos to watch your every move.
Edward Snowden showed the world this reality of corrupt Internet. He made others understand that the Internet was not as safe, secure, and private as we once had believed. Unique IDs have been given out; mobile identifiers, or what we call cell phones encapsulate who we are and how we live, while simultaneously broadcasting that information under our noses. Everyone can be identified by his or her usage and data. The market has gained increasing profit and the government is gaining increasing control, both because of increased surveillance and data collection. They give each other information in order to create a fuller picture. That way, the situation is better understood.
After 9/11 people were highly in favor of more surveillance in order to be safer. People believed that if the government was able to watch over their people, then they would have security, which they were willing to give up their privacy for. However, one should come with the other. We should be able to have both, not just one or the other.
I would say that is that security is knowing that you are able to have your privacy and trusting that what you keep private is also something that would not need to be checked as secure.
Top-down use of data is when people look down and admit there is a problem then try to fix it in a way they see fit without sharing the problem with the public or asking the public for their solutions. Bottom-up use of data is when people can view their own data and be a part of a change that takes place, making their own informed decisions and not letting large companies keep them blind and outside of the decision making process.
I would say that we have the capacity to build a society we can be proud of, but at the moment we are embrassing the fact that “ignorance is bliss”. Many people would rather stumble blindly away from an issue than purposefully take off their blindfold of ignorance and help to make a change. I think what we can do is become informed about the problems the world is facing and then instead of just acknowledging that there are problems and then going back to our daily lives, we should instead make a change in the way we live and inform others about what you’ve learned.
The future that I was assigned was “Big Brother” which basically was having constant surveillance in hopes that the government will protect the population. My result does worry me a bit. Before I had seen this series I was aware that I was being monitored, but I was not aware of the extent to which I have been monitored. I hope that now that I am more educated on the subject, I will be able to make better decisions in the future, therefore changing my future.
In 2013, Edward Snowden brought to the attention of the public that the Internet is not as private as we once thought. He showed Americans that our own government, the NSA, was tracking us and that the UK was in the same position we were, with the GCHQ. We now know that social medias are giving our data to the government. However, people are not standing idle with this information. Since 2013, there have been thousands of people and hundreds of companies that have signed petitions to prohibit mass surveillance. Some of these companies have launched campaigns to make our data more secure and discourage data collection. This action has even led to the discovery of illegal surveillance practices by the government that has since been banned. Changes are being made, thanks to Snowden.
Privacy matters because without it, we are unable to live a life that is our own, but rather would share everything with everyone. There are many things that we chose to share in our lives, but there are also things that we are ashamed of and hide. If everything we did was broadcasted to the world, I’m sure we all would be embarrassed. It should be the individual’s choice what they want to share with each other and with large corporations. Privacy gives power to the information holder. Without it, the individual no longer has the means to distribute information as they see fit, and instead are subject to whatever the trackers chose to do with it. Privacy is power, and it is important that the people keep the power.
In order to keep our privacy, and in effect our power, there are a few precautions one can take. One thing you can do is to read terms and conditions you agree to. This could be a long and strenuous process, but you will be informed. Another way to b safe is to avoid public Wi-Fi hotspots that can collect and distribute your data. Looking up the laws about online privacy and researching political figures opinions on these issues is another way to stay informed. Deleting profiles you no longer use is also a good step to insure privacy. You can avoid using technologies that you know do not keep your information private, but instead seek out technologies that promote privacy. You can also raise awareness about tracking and help others avoid it as well.
We should care about our digital footprint because when we don’t, we have less control over what we keep private. We do not have the freedom to decide what we share and what we do not. Our reputations can be tarnished if data is taken out of context and then shared. Not only can companies can learn all about you just because of what sites you visit and what you click on, but they also can sell this information and make a profit. The data from your digital footprint has commercial value that you, often unknowingly, are giving away for free.
Large corporations such as Google, Facebook, and Apple own our private data. They collect big data from all their users and use it to tailor your online experience. However not only do these corporations collect your data, they also sell it to advertisers. This means advertising companies also own your data. Corporations not only share your data with advertisers, but also the government. Your data is no longer your own, but rather is owned by ever increasing businesses and organizations.
There are many opinions as to what the future holds in terms of privacy. Some people believe that there is only going to be more data collection and therefore less privacy. Others hope that changes will be made and that the people will reclaim their right to confidentiality. What will carry out is up to the people. If we sit idly and allow ourselves to be tracked, then nothing will change and big data will continue to grow. However, if the people make a stand and fight for their rights to privacy online, there will be reform. Reform has already begun, but there is still much to be done. What future are you contributing to? Are you fine with giving away any and all information about who you are or will you take a stand and fight against the silent collection of your data? If you do make the choice to help change the world, will just your voice be enough? Only the future will tell.
I think it is extremely important that the public understands what they are involved in, and view the world in many dimensions rather than just the one we think best fits us. It is better to be informed than to be ignorant. I think people should know about what information we are allowing to be spread about us, even without our knowing. I think it is also important not to become overwhelmed with this newfound information but rather to be inspired to evoke change. The world is not necessarily what we want and assume it to be; we need to take action to make sure it becomes and stays what we want it to be.
