Law in Contemporary Society

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LisaXiaSecondEssay 4 - 09 Jun 2016 - Main.LisaXia
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Privacy in the Digital Age

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 Prof. Harcourt said in his book: “There is hardly any need for illicit or surreptitious searches, and there is little need to compel, to pressure, to strong-arm, or to intimidate, because so many of us are giving all our most intimate information and whereabouts so willingly and passionately – so voluntarily.” The revelation that so many people are involuntarily being surveilled either in prison or with ankle bracelets while others voluntarily give up their information for the sake of convenience or vanity does not sit well. I realized the “affects my life right now test” is definitely NOT a good test. To not care about something just because it doesn’t seem like it’s influencing our life indicates a selfish lack of desire to be aware of your surroundings or to be able to recognize real problems that may not affect you just because of your class or demographic. Online surveillance may not seem to affect our [read: people in a certain income or racial group] life because we may be ‘privileged’ in some way. We are not in danger of the police creating fake social media accounts to try to find out more information about us. We don’t have to worry that we’ll be targeted because we have not acted out. We are of the conforming society, and by being a conformist, the government knows that they do not need to worry about us.
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I don’t want to be influenced by the Internet and social media anymore. I don’t want to be told to want a shiny, new product that seamlessly integrates the analog life with the digital life. I don’t want my Fitbit to tell me that my steps don’t count unless it’s recorded by my fitness tracker. I don’t want to thermostat that knows my life and my schedule. I don’t want to have to verify my identity on Coursera by typing a phrase multiple times so that Coursera can learn my “unique typing patterns” so that they can “confirm my identity throughout the course” to make sure I’m not cheating. I want to be in control of my personal information – how much of it I want to give out and to whom.
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I don’t want to be influenced by the Internet and social media anymore. I don’t want to be told to want a shiny, new product that seamlessly integrates the analog life with the digital life. I don’t want my Fitbit to tell me that my steps don’t count unless it’s recorded by my fitness tracker. I don’t want a thermostat that knows my life and my schedule. I don’t want to have to verify my identity on Coursera by typing a phrase multiple times so that Coursera can learn my “unique typing patterns” so that they can “confirm my identity throughout the course” to make sure I’m not cheating. I want to be in control of my personal information – how much of it I want to give out and to whom.
 Harcourt says: “The line between governance, commerce, surveillance, and private life is evaporating.” And it’s true. As governance, commerce, and surveillance merge into one, the government and various corporations are working together to watch and enforce a way of life. They monitor and punish those who step out of the norm, and reward those who conform with more objects of desire and more words of affirmation, keeping the population blinded and subdued. Digital privacy IS important and hopefully soon, more people will begin to realize it.

Revision 4r4 - 09 Jun 2016 - 02:30:41 - LisaXia
Revision 3r3 - 06 Jun 2016 - 03:30:24 - LisaXia
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