Location, Location, Location
Everyone likes their privacy as long as it’s convenient for them. People enjoy the many benefits of being able to access information almost immediately. Not many people like it when they are being the ones searched for or followed. One aspect of privacy that people often ignore is locational privacy. People never know when they are being watched. It’s so easy to find information about a person and where they spend their time throughout a day. Is it logic, habit or a unique set of algorithms? It could simply be that we share more with the public than we want to take credit for. How many times do we check-in to a location without realizing that people are paying attention? Recently I took a road trip to visit my parents and drove from South Carolina to Massachusetts. Along the way I noticed that strangers could observe my actions any which way they wanted to. It happened several times throughout my drive. Being made aware of technological advances has really opened my eyes. The theme of locational privacy and its results, is explored throughout a book called The Circle by Dave Eggers. Although it’s a fictional novel it’s relevant to society and what’s happening in the world today. If people go about their normal routines and do no wrong, it shouldn't matter if they’re being recorded…does it?
During my travels I needed directions and when I tried to use my phone for navigation it wanted permission to access my location. I instinctively hit “Agree” because I was so eager for results it didn't matter what the privacy policy actually consisted of. My mind began to consider that besides draining the battery faster, what else is it taking away? When giving permission a person is allowing websites consent to track their approximate location. Many people have used this application before and probably have never thought twice. This application allows more than just access to directions. Any post on Facebook during that time can recognize the city a person is currently in and attach it to a status. Before you know it all 800 friends can know where a person is and when. This makes it hard to avoid people, lie about being late or to be left alone altogether.
The second part of the trip involved stopping to use the restroom. Nothing was out of the ordinary about this stop, it was just a typical Grab-n-Go gas station. When I obtained the key to the outside restroom I looked up and notice a small round bulb against the building. It was clearly a security camera. This may have been put in place for my protection or for the store owners. Were they watching to see if I was going in alone? When I returned the key I realized it was a live feed that was easily visible on a live screen. We continued on our journey and eventually had to stop again. This time the rest stop was along the highway where they had picnic tables and vending machines set up. When I stepped out of the car I noticed a huge sign standing alone in the middle of the picnic tables. It’s was hard to miss the sign as it was black and white with huge letters reading “WARNING- THIS AREA SUBJECT TO SURVEILLANCE.” It seemed strange that people would announce it so boldly. I felt maybe this was put in place because of a previous event or to prevent people from doing illegal things in public. I looked around to see if I could clearly see a camera but did not. At least it warned the public to be careful of their actions as they may be recorded.
Awareness is the most tremendous gain that a person can receive from reading The Circle. In the novel the main character, Mae, works for a large company that requires her to participate in a type of networking community. Her participation is ranked as she takes photos at parties she attends and shares them online. This lets everyone in the company know where she is, how long she was there and who she spent time with. It allows everyone involved to live through her experiences. By everyone I mean millions of people. They don’t view this as an invasion of privacy. The company actually frowns upon people who don’t share what they enjoy doing. Mae travels home once in a while to visit her parents who live off campus a couple hours away. Even though it’s a long drive she doesn’t mind because along the way there is a place to rent kayaks if she chooses take a break. Mae loves to kayak as she finds it relaxing. One day she stopped but they were closed. She took it upon herself to borrow one that was leaning against the outside of the fence. She did not realize they had “SeeChange” cameras set up and they caught her red handed. The cameras captured her movements as she hesitated, with her legs partially in the water. Her punishment involved bringing awareness to poor decision making. It also made her rethink her actions, and even though she knew it was stealing, she still made the wrong choice. It is rare for Mae to be able to do anything, without it easily being known by the millions of people within the Circle. Privacy doesn't exist in public locations anymore.
The theme of location and privacy is very much present in an article found in The New York Times. It addresses all the ways we make our whereabouts public knowledge. The article is titled “A casualty of the technology revolution: ‘locational privacy’” and written by Adam Cohen. He describes a day where he simply checks emails, rides a train, and goes to the gym. Cohen states that his actions weren't secret to begin with but it was way too easy for someone to track him. All he did was sign into his email, swipe his membership card and purchase train tickets. These actions were logged at specific times and recorded. Cohen claims our movements are not private and haven’t been even during low-tech days. The part of the article that jumped out at me is the mention of EZ Passes. As I traveled on several toll roads, I thought about how the department of transportation actually takes a picture of a person as they are driving through. Looking back I realized I chose to slow down and not speed, due to the cameras observing my vehicle. I also chose not to switch lanes over a bridge just because you weren't supposed to. These laws were put in place for protection, but when does it become too much? Like I've mentioned before the public enjoys having these extra pair of eyes until the attention is solely on them. I agree with Cohen that “data should be erased as soon as its main purpose is met.” Although I’m a person who enjoys the many benefits of having a cell phone, I also agree with Cohen that an application needs to know WHERE people are, not WHO people are.
For the time being the public will continue to use many services that sacrifice their privacy. Some may say there are ways around it or settings that they can adjust. These options may available for now, but one day people won’t be able to be incognito. It’s incredible to think that sometime in the future people won’t have the choice to hide anything. The Circle may be based on utopia but in reality is not far fetched. Technology plays a larger role in the way humans live their lives. More recently people have been discussing privacy in public involving technology and the issues it has already developed. Even though these issues seem manageable now, I can only imagine what the world will be facing in the years to come.
Works Cited
Cohen, Adam. "A casualty of the technology revolution: 'locational privacy'." New York Times 1 Sept. 2009: A28(L). Global Issues In Context. Web. 15 April 2015.