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FacebookIsDangerous 10 - 01 Apr 2012 - Main.RumbidzaiMaweni
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Facebook is Dangerous
I ran into this article where Eben describes Facebook as analgous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: this isn't a technical hack, this is a social hack, and it amazes me how oblivious we are to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement. | | | Elvira, this article is shocking and went well beyond my knowledge of how future employers and schools can use Facebook to collect information. A lawyer quoted in the article, Bradley Shear, made an interesting analogy to the privacy infringement actions of future employers and schools, Shear said, "A good analogy for this [future employers and schools demanding access to Facebook accounts], in the offline world, would it be acceptable for schools to require athletes to bug their off-campus apartments? Does a school have a right to know who all your friends are?"
On the other hand, the article also noted that when Maryland's Department of Corrections forced applicants to surrender their user names and passwords during an interview, that out of 2,689 applicants, they identified 7 applicants whose social media applications had pictures of gang signs, and subsequently did not hire these individuals. Is there ever an appropriate time for agencies and schools to demand that individuals share their social media information, prior to being found in violation of any crime or policy? Forcing 2,689 individuals to surrender their privacy so that 7 alleged gang affiliates can be weeded out, seems a hefty price to pay.
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> | -- AbiolaFasehun - 29 Feb 2012
I just read an article about a fairly disturbing Facebook application, and thought I'd post it here: http://www.cultofmac.com/157641/this-creepy-app-isnt-just-stalking-women-without-their-knowledge-its-a-wake-up-call-about-facebook-privacy/
The author of the article encourages readers to see the application as instructive regarding internet privacy and protecting ourselves on social networking sites like Facebook.
I, too, like Skylar feel like I've been letting much of this discourse about privacy and the internet pass me by. As Moglen mentioned in class the other day, it very much has been this passive "If I'm not doing anything wrong, what does it matter," attitude on my part. But I also grow frustrated when I try to discuss this topic with people who are adamantly anti-Facebook and other forms of social-networking, because I often do feel that users of these platforms are not given enough credit. I also get the impression that these people assume that Facebook's only uses are for stalking friends and colleagues as entertainment, curing boredom, or for narcissistic, superficial over-sharing. There's little acknowledgement of what a powerful form of community-building it can be, or that our ideas of what imaginary communities we are a part of, and can be active in, has largely shifted as a consequence of these networks. I've long been interested in migration and diaspora communities, and social networking has drastically changed the way people in diaspora communities perceive themselves and their communities. It's not merely the ease of keeping in touch that's important- it is that act of sharing daily thoughts and experiences that's extremely powerful from the perspective of identity formation, remittances, empathy-building, and even planting the seeds for activism.
I realize whether Facebook and similar forms of social networking can be useful is a different question from whether or not Facebook is dangerous from a privacy perspective. I just wish those who frame the debate would more often acknowledge that there are real and immediate positive social interests at stake, beyond 20-somethings wanting to show off their party pictures, that contribute to the complacency some people feel regarding these potential long-term consequences. Maybe if those championing internet privacy gave more credit to those who really do want to find a way to balance behavior in the cyber-realm that contributes to certain positive ends with making a stand for internet re-empowerment, it would go a long way towards making people wake up.
-- RumbidzaiMaweni - 01 Apr 2012 |
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FacebookIsDangerous 9 - 08 Mar 2012 - Main.AbiolaFasehun
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Facebook is Dangerous
I ran into this article where Eben describes Facebook as analgous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: this isn't a technical hack, this is a social hack, and it amazes me how oblivious we are to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement. | | | I just never was particularly concerned about the possible ramifications of having a Facebook because I always felt as thoufgh A) everyone has a Facebook and what is on mine can't be that much worse than anyone else's and B) I wouldn't want to work at or go to school at a place that did not want me based on the content on my Facebook. To me it seems that employers and schools that are demanding usernames and passwords are engaging in a very particular form of voyeurism rather than in any useful applicant vetting process. | |
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> | -- ElviraKras | | | Skylar, I edited out the question you referred to in your post, but for those following along the question asked if people will ever take to the streets to demand that as internet "clients" we have a right to re-empowered as to how our information is used. I was interested in the idea of people taking action, in any form, to demand changes in the way their information is being used. I think that by attending the SOPA lunch time discussion you were taking a step in the right direction. I too have been inspired to attempt to better understand the way the internet works and will be taking a one day workshop on web development and coding during spring break.
Elvira, this article is shocking and went well beyond my knowledge of how future employers and schools can use Facebook to collect information. A lawyer quoted in the article, Bradley Shear, made an interesting analogy to the privacy infringement actions of future employers and schools, Shear said, "A good analogy for this [future employers and schools demanding access to Facebook accounts], in the offline world, would it be acceptable for schools to require athletes to bug their off-campus apartments? Does a school have a right to know who all your friends are?" |
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FacebookIsDangerous 8 - 08 Mar 2012 - Main.AbiolaFasehun
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="LawContempSoc" |
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Facebook is Dangerous
I ran into this article where Eben describes Facebook as analgous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: this isn't a technical hack, this is a social hack, and it amazes me how oblivious we are to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement. | | | I just never was particularly concerned about the possible ramifications of having a Facebook because I always felt as thoufgh A) everyone has a Facebook and what is on mine can't be that much worse than anyone else's and B) I wouldn't want to work at or go to school at a place that did not want me based on the content on my Facebook. To me it seems that employers and schools that are demanding usernames and passwords are engaging in a very particular form of voyeurism rather than in any useful applicant vetting process.
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< | Skylar, I edited out the question you referred to in your post, but for those following along the question asked if people will ever take to the streets to demand that as internet "clients" we be re-empowered? | >
> | Skylar, I edited out the question you referred to in your post, but for those following along the question asked if people will ever take to the streets to demand that as internet "clients" we have a right to re-empowered as to how our information is used. I was interested in the idea of people taking action, in any form, to demand changes in the way their information is being used. I think that by attending the SOPA lunch time discussion you were taking a step in the right direction. I too have been inspired to attempt to better understand the way the internet works and will be taking a one day workshop on web development and coding during spring break. | | | | |
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< | Essentially what I attempted to get at with my question is the idea of people taking action, in any form, to demand changes in the way their information is being used. I think that by attending the SOPA lunch time discussion you were taking a step in the right direction. I too have been inspired to attempt to better understand the internet's communication architecture and will be taking a one day workshop on coding and building a website during spring break. | >
> | Elvira, this article is shocking and went well beyond my knowledge of how future employers and schools can use Facebook to collect information. A lawyer quoted in the article, Bradley Shear, made an interesting analogy to the privacy infringement actions of future employers and schools, Shear said, "A good analogy for this [future employers and schools demanding access to Facebook accounts], in the offline world, would it be acceptable for schools to require athletes to bug their off-campus apartments? Does a school have a right to know who all your friends are?" | | | | |
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< | Elvira, this article is shocking and went well beyond my knowledge of how the government, employers, and schools can use Facebook. A lawyer quoted in the article, Bradley Shear, made a strong point in regards to the privacy infringement of the government, employers, and schools actions, Shear said, "A good analogy for this, in the offline world, would it be acceptable for schools to require athletes to bug their off-campus apartments? Does a school have a right to know who all your friends are?"
On the other hand, the article also noted that when Maryland's Department of Corrections forced applicants to surrender their user names and passwords during the interview, that out of 2,689 applicants, they identified 7 applicants whose social media applications had pictures of gang signs. Is there ever an appropriate time for agencies and schools to demand that individuals share their social media information, prior to being found in violation of any crime or policy? Surrendering the privacy of 2,689 individuals to find 7 alleged gang affiliates, seems a hefty price to pay. | | | \ No newline at end of file | |
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> | On the other hand, the article also noted that when Maryland's Department of Corrections forced applicants to surrender their user names and passwords during an interview, that out of 2,689 applicants, they identified 7 applicants whose social media applications had pictures of gang signs, and subsequently did not hire these individuals. Is there ever an appropriate time for agencies and schools to demand that individuals share their social media information, prior to being found in violation of any crime or policy? Forcing 2,689 individuals to surrender their privacy so that 7 alleged gang affiliates can be weeded out, seems a hefty price to pay. | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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FacebookIsDangerous 7 - 07 Mar 2012 - Main.AbiolaFasehun
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Facebook is Dangerous
I ran into this article where Eben describes Facebook as analgous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: this isn't a technical hack, this is a social hack, and it amazes me how oblivious we are to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement. | | | -- SanjayMurti - 08 Feb 2012 | |
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< | I am joining this conversation a little late, but one of the things that I find interesting in the Facebook debate, is the lack of credit that Facebook users are given. I realize that I am probably in the minority, but I feel that I am very conscious of the fact that really nothing I put on Facebook is ever really "private" in the traditional sense (and yes I too resisted a Facebook account for years). Sanjay makes an interesting point about how far this problem stretches, but in analyzing Facebook's user implications, I also think it is important to remember why people have Facebook accounts. I know this doesn't speak to necessarily everyone, but I don't believe it would be a stretch to say that for the most part- man is a narcissist. Facebook users want people to be able to find them, look at their super cool pictures, their awesome friends, and know about that fabulous job they just landed. People want to be able to connect with others for platonic and not so platonic reasons, as well as make announcements to the world about who they are. Through lack of hindsight, they don't really want to be bothered by the details. I believe it is fair to say that a good amount of people do not mind "Facebook exposure" and are not naive to the fact that through Facebook other websites can track where they've been and create formulas to ascertain suggestions on future internet use. I think if anything, the danger occurs in the public's general lack of understanding of how deep this tracking system extends and how the information can be used against them. | >
> | I am joining this conversation a little late, but one of the things that I find interesting in the Facebook debate, is the lack of credit that Facebook users are given. I realize that I am probably in the minority, but I feel that I am very conscious of the fact that really nothing I put on Facebook is ever really "private" in the traditional sense (and yes I too resisted a Facebook account for years). Sanjay makes an interesting point about how far this problem stretches, but in analyzing Facebook's user implications, I also think it is important to remember why people have Facebook accounts. I know this doesn't speak to necessarily everyone, but Facebook users want people to be able to find them, look at their pictures, their friends, and know about that fabulous job they just landed. People want to be able to connect with others for platonic and not so platonic reasons, as well as make announcements to the world about who they are. Perhaps due to lack of hindsight, people don't really want to be bothered by the details. I believe it is fair to say that a good amount of people do not mind "Facebook exposure" and are not naive to the fact that through Facebook other websites can track where they've been and create formulas to ascertain suggestions on future internet use. Perhaps the danger occurs in the public's general lack of how the information can be used against them. | | | | |
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< | I do agree with Harry's point that the world needs another option. But I think more likely what will happen is that just as some may say that Facebook took over MySpace? , there will be another tech company that takes over Facebook, rendering Facebook obsolete and still leaving us with one popular option. In Moglen's Freedom in the Cloud speech, he said, "It's not a pretty story...We haven't lost. We've just really bamboozled ourselves. And we're going to have to unbamboozle ourselves really quickly or we're going to bamboozle a bunch of innocent people who didn't know we were throwing away their privacy for them forever." I believe this quote sheds light on the importance of properly educating individuals about the extent to which their collected information is used. But at what point should we hold users accountable for performing due diligence, and at least putting in some effort to find out how their information is used?
I am not a tech wiz, and from reading Moglen's speech I was assured of how naive my understanding of the web is. Moglen's Freedom in the Cloud speech gave me an abbreviated history of how technology has gotten to the point where it is now. But more importantly, Moglen's speech left me wondering, if the extent of the problem is so vast, when will people demand more transparency? Beyond protesting against wars and violent crimes, when will people take to the streets to demand that as internet "clients" we be re-empowered? | >
> | I do agree with Harry's point that America needs another option. But just as Facebook could be viewed as having taken over MySpace? , there will be another tech company that takes over Facebook, rendering Facebook obsolete and still leaving the public with one popular option. In Moglen's Freedom in the Cloud speech, he discusses the flaws in the networks we use, but remarks that all is not lost, "It's not a pretty story...We haven't lost. We've just really bamboozled ourselves. And we're going to have to unbamboozle ourselves really quickly or we're going to bamboozle a bunch of innocent people who didn't know we were throwing away their privacy for them forever." Moglen's speech served as a brief education on how information on the web is collected and can serve as a cautionary tale for educating individuals about the extent to which their collected information is used. If the extent of the problem is so vast, when will we reach the point to where people demand more transparency? At what point should we hold users accountable for performing due diligence, and putting in some effort to find out how their information is used? | | | -- AbiolaFasehun - 28 Feb 2012 | | | Just read this article this morning and found it pretty disturbing: http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/06/10585353-govt-agencies-colleges-demand-applicants-facebook-passwords?fb_ref=.T1YiipFoURA.like&fb_source=home_oneline | |
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< | I just never was particularly concerned about the possible ramifications of having a Facebook because I always felt as though A) everyone has a Facebook and what is on mine can't be that much worse than anyone else's and B) I wouldn't want to work at or go to school at a place that did not want me based on the content on my Facebook. To me it seems that employers and schools that are demanding usernames and passwords are engaging in a very particular form of voyeurism rather than in any useful applicant vetting process. | | | \ No newline at end of file | |
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> | I just never was particularly concerned about the possible ramifications of having a Facebook because I always felt as thoufgh A) everyone has a Facebook and what is on mine can't be that much worse than anyone else's and B) I wouldn't want to work at or go to school at a place that did not want me based on the content on my Facebook. To me it seems that employers and schools that are demanding usernames and passwords are engaging in a very particular form of voyeurism rather than in any useful applicant vetting process.
Skylar, I edited out the question you referred to in your post, but for those following along the question asked if people will ever take to the streets to demand that as internet "clients" we be re-empowered?
Essentially what I attempted to get at with my question is the idea of people taking action, in any form, to demand changes in the way their information is being used. I think that by attending the SOPA lunch time discussion you were taking a step in the right direction. I too have been inspired to attempt to better understand the internet's communication architecture and will be taking a one day workshop on coding and building a website during spring break.
Elvira, this article is shocking and went well beyond my knowledge of how the government, employers, and schools can use Facebook. A lawyer quoted in the article, Bradley Shear, made a strong point in regards to the privacy infringement of the government, employers, and schools actions, Shear said, "A good analogy for this, in the offline world, would it be acceptable for schools to require athletes to bug their off-campus apartments? Does a school have a right to know who all your friends are?"
On the other hand, the article also noted that when Maryland's Department of Corrections forced applicants to surrender their user names and passwords during the interview, that out of 2,689 applicants, they identified 7 applicants whose social media applications had pictures of gang signs. Is there ever an appropriate time for agencies and schools to demand that individuals share their social media information, prior to being found in violation of any crime or policy? Surrendering the privacy of 2,689 individuals to find 7 alleged gang affiliates, seems a hefty price to pay. | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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FacebookIsDangerous 6 - 06 Mar 2012 - Main.ElviraKras
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="LawContempSoc" |
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Facebook is Dangerous
I ran into this article where Eben describes Facebook as analgous to a "man in the middle" attack that a hacker might employ to intercept apparently private communication for nefarious purposes. I think Eben's analogy is spot on: this isn't a technical hack, this is a social hack, and it amazes me how oblivious we are to the increasing damage Facebook is inflicting on our privacy and the danger it can pose to people who are deemed "criminals" wanted by law enforcement. | | | What scares me most about our recent discussions in class is my participation in/passive acceptance of injustice and/or the terrifying things I see and hear about the world. Thus far my approach to my fear of technological dystopia I see us heading towards, is to remain as unaware of it as possible. Aside from gmail, facebook, and the occasional Wikipedia search, I legitimately do not use the internet, and pride myself on how little I understand it. But it’s happening without me and eventually it will effect me. Even though the result of the SOPA debate was moot, its prevalence in the news, combined with the fear elicited in me via our discussions in Law in Contemporary Society sparked me to start paying attention. Going to a debate in a law school classroom is far from going to the streets, but it’s at least a step.
-- SkylarPolansky - 29 Feb 2012
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> | Just read this article this morning and found it pretty disturbing: http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/06/10585353-govt-agencies-colleges-demand-applicants-facebook-passwords?fb_ref=.T1YiipFoURA.like&fb_source=home_oneline
I just never was particularly concerned about the possible ramifications of having a Facebook because I always felt as though A) everyone has a Facebook and what is on mine can't be that much worse than anyone else's and B) I wouldn't want to work at or go to school at a place that did not want me based on the content on my Facebook. To me it seems that employers and schools that are demanding usernames and passwords are engaging in a very particular form of voyeurism rather than in any useful applicant vetting process. | | | \ No newline at end of file |
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