Right to Privacy - Expoitation of the Sacrifice for Safety

After reading the two pieces Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains by Jay Stanley and Barry Steinhart and In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love (Some) Government Surveillance by James Stacey Taylor, I changed my thoughts regarding privacy. My thoughts about privacy were in line with Taylor’s in that I believed that those who had nothing to worry about or do nothing wrong have no reason to be concerned about being monitored. This also came with the requirement that the information captured could only be used in “morally permissible” ways meaning that there would have to be just cause to dig into my data.

My feelings are still in line with Taylor’s because I will sacrifice privacy for safety, to a degree. What I have learned is that motivation and interests make the term “morally permissible” impossible to achieve. New technology is created at a speed greater than law creation and once the door has been opened to allow data aggregation and surveillance, institutions will exploit those laws for their interests and find loop holes to conduct business at my expense. In a perfect world this data could only be aggregated and used by the government for the purpose of reasonable national security. They catch here is that only the government writes the rules around what is reasonable and the actions can not be monitored by an independent third party.

Stanley and Steinhardt explained that once corporation gain access to this data and surveillance it is utilized for their interest and the speed and methods at which this information is being gathered is alarming if not scary. To think that my internet activity and financial data can be sold off because a weak law was implemented that, against its purpose, allows the activity rather than restricts it appalls me.

I firmly believe that my data and information can be gathered and utilized for my, and only my, best interest. Cell phone GPS, genetic privacy, RFID, the Patriot Act, TIA and CAPS II are all good technology when utilized in the appropriate manner. Having them used in the appropriate manner is impossible because of self interests and lack of monitoring. The identification of the exploitation makes me want to go to a place where I can’t be monitored. My private life is just that. My safety is a government issue. My information solely mine and those who house my financial information or I pay a fee to utilize their technology have an obligation to me to keep our interaction between us and no one else.

I am certainly more conscious of my situation after these readings and I may start to adjust my behavior as a response. It will not be an adjustment towards obeying laws, it will be an adjustment towards hiding my identity.