#wiretappers

[wiretappers-blog]

The fact that the government could have hired a stranger to look at the most unimportant and insignificant parts of our lives and examine them would give us the chills. Would you voluntarily give some stranger on the street your email password? You have a right to have some control over where the information in your life reaches, and governments reading your texts, emails and other forms of private electronic communication is a violation of your rights.

[wiretappers-blog]

Data mining conducted by the NSA has been long considered controversial. Despite the well-known argument of having nothing to hide, there is more than “hiding” involved when civilians do not wish for their governments to have access to their data. The thought of a stranger having access to every precise detail in your life is scary because we fear what will happen and how this data can be used against us. What if this data fell into the wrong hands, jeopardising our already fragile security? The civilians are the ones who sand the most to lose with this practice of data mining, and governments who still proceed with data mining, have much to reconsider, and whether their primary job as a “government” is being done.

[wiretappers-blog]

Who’s Who? Part 5- Mark Zuckerberg  

Mark Zuckerberg- Sweet Talker or Defender?

Background info: 

Born on May 14, 1984, Zuckerberg is a billionaire who founded Facebook in his college days. Today, Facebook is worth $435 million, making it one of the most successful social media companies. It is also the second most visited website after Google, and has more than a billion users around the world. 

Key quotes on right to privacy:

1)  “What people want isn’t complete privacy. It isn’t that they want secrecy. It’s that they want control over what they share and what they don’t.”

Zuckerberg on privacy during on an interview with TIME magazine, 2010.

2)  “One of the things that we focus on the most is creating private spaces for people to share things and have interactions that they couldn’t have had elsewhere.”

Zuckerberg on Facebook during an earnings call, 2014.

3)  “If people share more, the world will become more open and connected. And a world that’s more open and connected is a better world.”

Zuckerberg dismissing the loss of privacy of people as an action that can actually benefit the in The Washington Post, 2010.

While Zuckerberg has initially shown himself to be a great supporter  of the right to privacy, as Facebook grew, he began to turn away from the privacy movement. For example, Facebook introduced a controversial move in 2013 to change the privacy settings of its then 350 million users. It also introduced BEACON, which is able to allow ad companies to continuously track the movements of its users. However, he has been recently trying to revamp his company’s image, by promoting pro-privacy stances to better target privacy-conscious millennials and users. This includes how Facebook bought Whatsapp for 15 billion and installed a new character on Facebook to warn about oversharing to demonstrate his change in company stance to better reflect the opinions of the people. However, some have questioned why he describes privacy as a “control” and have questioned whether social media companies, that profit from people’s lack of privacy, will truly achieve the complete right to privacy. 

[wiretappers-blog]

This short video clip delves into the suspicionless nature of NSA spying and how the US government has knowingly lied to its people about the extent of its surveillance.

[wiretappers-blog]

Who’s There?

You had pizza for lunch.

Your hair blowing in the wind, shirt slightly creased.

You almost ran into your ex, you were really in a crunch.

You were crying in the toilet at 10, is there someone you miss?

Can you not feel me follow?

I am your first to listen.

Your second shadow

Your third person. 

All I want to be is part of your life.

Let me in, for my darkness needs your light.

You try to resist me and it cuts me like a knife,

I already know all about you, why put up a fight?

Maybe one day you will turn around, speak into the thin air

Fingertips on screen, as you wonder aloud, who’s there?

[wiretappers-blog]

Who’s Who?  PART 1: Edward Snowden

Welcome to a new segment of our Tumblr, in which we will be exploring the different key profiles involved in the topic of the right to privacy. 

Edward Snowden-Patriot or Traitor?

Background information: 

Born on 21 July 1983, Edward Snowden is perhaps best known for the being the largest leaker of classified information from the American government while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency. These files included information on the PRISM government surveillance program, which created large uproars  on the topic of government surveillance and national security. Currently seeking asylum in Russia, the American government has charged him with two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and for government theft. 

Key quotes on right to privacy: 

1) “The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting... I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things... I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.”

Snowden on The Guardian, 10 June 2013.  

2) “I don't see myself as a hero because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.” 

Snowden on The Guardian, 11 June 2013. 

3) “I would rather be without a state than without a voice.” 

Snowden in an open letter to the Brazilian people posted on Folha De S.Paulo, 17 December 2013. 

Snowden has largely painted himself as an advocate for government transparency, continuously standing up for the right of privacy by maintaining an active presence on his Twitter account. He has explained that his motive in releasing these controversial information was due to his need to inform the public of the government’s infringement into their daily lives, as well as to trigger debate on the right to privacy. Since then, while he has successfully caused much discussion on this topic, many have questioned if he has actually betrayed his country due to the fact that he exposed confidential information that could have been critical to the security of the nation. Naysayers have argued that the government has kept these information confidential for security reasons, and Snowden’s actions have created much unnecessary mistrust and resentment among the people against the government. However, Snowden is still seen as the catalyst for the current heated debates on the right to privacy, and has ignited the movement in the protection of these rights. 

[dltsgdom-blog]

Pittsburgh, PA - January 3rd, 2015

Shellshag (Don Giovanni Records), Wiretappers, Coyotes By The Way, Secret Paper Moon, and Roulette Waves at The Mr. Roboto Project! Facebook event and flyer coming soon!

shellshag dongiovannirecords themrrobotoproject