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We live in a society now that almost looks like one big Vegas poker table–where cameras and microphones are on you, whether you’re aware of them or not. Take the film Casino, a movie that explores the world of corrupt Vegas casino’s in the 1970s.
Consider this quote from Robert De Niro’s character Ace Rothstein: “In Vegas, everybody’s gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I’m watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all.” The only difference between the atmosphere in Vegas, and the atmosphere today is no one is really quite sure who is watching or listening and when. In every single TV show, when a crime happens on the street, getting video footage, and using face recognition technology to identify that person is a staple of the plot. It’s a far cry from 1884, Eastman Kodak introduced their Kodak Brownie, and it became a mass market camera by 1901, cheap enough for the general public. This allowed people and journalists to take candid snapshots in public places for the first time. Can you imagine life in another 100 years?
2017 is a gray period when it comes to privacy – no one is really sure about a lot of things. For example, in June of 2016 when Mark Zuckerberg covered his camera and audio plug with tape, people went into a tailspin. Does Mark know something we don’t know?
Did that mean everyone should cover their camera on their computer? Who is watching or listening? We know that criminals have something to worry about or hide when it comes to technologies that record your activity. Politicians and celebrities are also vulnerable to their email and phone being hacked. Or footage of comments that were made on video many years ago available to the general public. But what about the rest of us “normal people”? Should we also be concerned? If we have nothing to hide, does that mean we should ignore privacy issues and enjoy Facebook, our iPhones, and our Amazon Echo?
Many of us enjoy the use of devices like Alexa in our homes, but if Alexa is listening for her name to be said (her “wake word”)—all the time—does that mean she is listening (and possibly recording) what we do all the time? Customers are concerned about their privacy at home, and within reason. But many of us enjoy these technologies so much we’re willing to forego our privacy.
According to Amazon the answer is no. The reason this is even an issue is the recent murder case that came up where the police requested Amazon provide them with the data from one home’s Amazon Echo.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the data of these devices doesn’t stay at home — it’s in the cloud. “It’s under the control of someone else, and because of the consent you signed or because of a legal process, they might be compelled to share it with the government.” But Amazon assures they will “not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served.”
Some swear off these devices and social networks that could possibly be used against them. But the rest of us who enjoy Facebook, Amazon’s Alexa and other IOT devices that could easily be hacked tell ourselves, “well I’ve got nothing to hide. What are those other people hiding?”
But there are more implications for these devices, even if you aren’t involved in a murder case. For example insurance companies can get data from multiple sources and charge you more for your premiums. If a potential employer finds out you are on anti-psychotic medication–perhaps from a private message that was exposed, or you forwarded the wrong email to someone–game over. It’s likely they would use that information against you in the hiring process. Or what if a bank who is considering you for a home loan does a simple search on you and finds something unbecoming? A lot of people don’t even realize that the posts they engage with online are visible to others. You know how I know that? LinkedIn! Every day I see posts from male contacts on LinkedIn that like a post from a young woman who is scantily clad. How embarrassing for them. It’s LinkedIn!
On an Amazon echo—any family member in one house can look up recorded data from their Echo. This could pose a problem if there are multiple people in the house and some of them want to maintain privacy. For example what if the teenage daughter wants to know how to find out if she’s pregnant, and asks Alexa? What if one spouse requests information from Alexa about filing for divorce? There are so many places and devices that we use everyday that could expose us. Most of us hope we will never be targeted in a hack, because it seems that once someone wants to do you harm, it’s pretty easy to do so. Most of our online lives are just not that secure.
Today is an important time in privacy. Many of us feel there is little we can do to protect ourselves. We don’t want to cut ourselves off from the technologies we thoroughly enjoy, but we also don’t want anyone spying on us or our families. Can we count on the government to regulate technology companies? Probably not. Can we count on technology companies to act responsibly? The jury is still out on that one.
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