Consumer Privacy Companies Woo Business Companies

5 Ways You Give The Government Control” written by Kenneth Coats shows how the devices we use daily slowly take over individuals lives. Coats states, “Today, most people in the United States carry a mobile phone that accompanies them wherever they go. We use them for everything...This essentially makes them the perfect tracking and bugging devices”. Although electronic devices are known to be safe, they allow outside people to figure out individuals personal life. Due to the need for devices such as cell phones, each individual has a high chance of being socially stalked once in their lifetime. Coats then states, “Not only do intelligence agencies gather information via mobile companies, but… your phone can be hacked using spyware. Even if your phone is turned off, it can be remotely accessed to recorded conversations and take photographs”. This issue causes a panic due to the wide spread of inappropriate pictures and private conversations in one's life. Even though technology is viewed as a privileged, it is also taking away people's lives without their

“More than three billion people worldwide now use the internet (Time), and 80 percent of them access if from their smartphones” (Smart Insights). A smartphone is a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, and much more. There is an abundant amount of smartphone brands out there in the world and while they all cost different prices, they all perform the same job. Each person uses their smartphone for various reasons, whether it’s for work or to make calls or texts. Smartphones have changed society in various ways, both good and bad. Although countless individuals think that smartphones have ruined American society, smartphones have actually benefited society because of more safety precautions, information on hand, and entertainment.

Companies have an obligation to protect their customer’s information, which goes beyond that of complying with state and federal regulations. If the company loses the trust of their customers, they risk the chance of damaging

With the seemingly exponential propagation of inexpensive digital communications technologies over recent years, the general public is becoming more aware of the issues surrounding information privacy and government surveillance in the digital age. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a smart-phone has to be wary of how they use their private information for fear of that information being collected and used in a way contrary to their wishes. "Leaky" smartphone apps that transmit private information across the internet can be unethically used by government agencies. The issue of privacy is a balancing act; the public usually wants increased privacy and the government usually wants increased access.

Workplace privacy is one of the biggest issues facing businesses today. Do you feel like you are being watched all the time, all your e-mails being read, and every key stroke is being monitored by your boss? Some people feel this way and that is why privacy in the workplace is a problem with many businesses today. Employees feel like they are not being trusted, or feel the company invades on their personal privacy, or violates their fourth amendment rights. On the other hand many businesses have many federal and state laws to follow, and must keep their assets safe, and their employees. Technology makes communications of all sorts as easy as a few pushes of a button. This technology makes it

In “Privacy under Attack,” the authors discuss some potential ways of how our privacy could be in danger or stolen by companies or accessible by administration and corporations. According to the authors, some ways that our privacy could be in danger are first through video records and picture taken by traffic cameras and surveillance cameras for us. Second through illegal “wiretaps” by the government that could hear our conversations. Third, our privacy and personal data could be “monitored by corporations through the role of club cards, raffles, or refunds that outside companies’ collection of data about us can then be sold without noticing, given consumers the optional to search for the box on any frame to indicate they don’t want their personal

Law professor Paul Ohm, in an article titled “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker”, writes “Every year, private companies send millions of dollars developing new services that track, store and share words, movement and even the thoughts of their customers.” We see their privacy being broken in the novel 1984 and realize that we are experiencing the same type of surveillance in our economy. NBC News, in an article FBI Abandoned Carnivore Wiretap Software writes, “FBI… popular commercial wiretap software because it was less expensive and had improved in it’s ability to copy E-mails and other communications of a targeted internet account without affecting their subscribers. Government officials use this kind of technology to keep track of our information and movement to assure we are no threat to our

The 1984 quote, “Big Brother is Watching You” (Orwell 2) is becoming far too real for most while in the dawn of technology. Small handheld devices carried by millions with the ability to keep track of location and can communicate with others, yet one can only imagine the darker side of a device meant to bring ease of life to many. The telescreen in 1984 shows how a device advertised as an entertainment product could be turned against the public. The telescreen was bought by proles, who could afford one, for the entertainment of a television. The telescreen allowed people to view certain media channels. In the same way, smartphones are being bought by millions of people for the entertainment value and connectivity to the cyber world. The government is hard at work cracking open cellphones, such as Android, to view what the owners are using the phones for. There is a backdoor in each phone that allows the government to pull information out of the phone. The information consists of phone call records, emails, text messages, and internet history. The government agency, National Security Agency, was

The article called, The End of Privacy by Adam L. Penenberg, demonstrates the easy access an intruder can have to someone’s private information in today’s digital world with just a few taps on the keyboard, and a phone. Making your private information unprotected and defenseless. Penenberg also describes transition from mainframe computers to desktop PCs making private information vulnerable. He also reveals that marketers and busybodies have more customer data than ever. He also illustrates the advances of search methods that cyber criminals have up their sleeve, how the misrepresent themselves in order to puncture through the credit bureaus, and the Federal reserve database, spilling out all of your financial information, social security,

Legal actions are likely to be brought against organizations that have violated consumer’s privacy rights, or misled them by failing to maintain security for sensitive consumer information. Under, the proposed settlement agreements, which are subject to public comment, the companies are prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which they participate in any privacy or data security program sponsored by the government or other approved organization.

One of the largest examples of a technological privacy violation in history was the Target data breach of 2013. The Target Corporation is one of the leading innovators of the retail industry. They introduced the concept of designer partnerships, making them one of the leading clothing stores in the country (Corporate Target 1). Unfortunately, the company was targeted by Russian hackers shortly before the Christmas of 2013. In this hack, personal information, including customer names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and credit card information, of seventy million people was stolen and used for fraud (Forbes 1). This has raised concerns over how well the company can ensure that their consumer’s privacy is protected.

Many of Bradbury’s concerns, such as privacy issues, have become a reality. Some communities have begun adopting a new form of technology which monitors people's electronics and "can also capture texts, calls, emails and other data, and prosecutors have received court approval to use it for such purposes" (Richtel). People are not given the information needed to understand how invasive this technology really is, causing many privacy concerns for people. In addition to authorities starting to invade your privacy, private corporations have also begun raising many privacy concerns. One smart television company told its customers to "be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party" (Newman). This invasion of people's privacy raised many concerns, and eventually became a reality when "when hackers demonstrated the ability to take over televisions with built-in cameras and microphones" (Newman). Even though the creators of this technology may not have meant for this to happen, this device has caused a great deal of both privacy concerns and even safety for some. As well as the privacy concerns it causes, technology has also begun to impair people's social skills. One person noticed "dozens of people riding the subway, deeply absorbed in their smartphones, oblivious to the world around them. They all seem much more comfortable interacting with their devices than with one another" (Wortham). Although some people believe their phones make them much more efficient workers and help with long distance communication, many can argue that the constant distractions because of the pings, notifications, and messages can prevent people from focusing in the task at hand and interacting with the world around the mall (Wortham).

A world beyond what George Orwell could imagine has been created in modern society through the use of not only government surveillance, but also corporate and consumer spying where users are often unaware of spying.. 1984 is set in a neo-communist society where the government controls production of goods and spies on its citizens in order to maintain power. In the modern era, surveillance takes a different form. Often the methods for spying on citizens in the US do not involve a direct line from the NSA to the citizen’s home, it usually takes a detour through a commercial setting. By partnering with major companies such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon, government surveillance programs are able to collect far more information than could be gained by simply tapping telephone lines. This is more disturbing since many companies including Verizon, AT&T, Apple, and Amazon do not require a warrant to supply information to investigators, and do not notify users of data requests.

During the early 1900s, people had to walk and travel extended distances just to communicate and interact with other people. Now in the present, we can easily contact someone and see what they are doing with a few movements of our thumbs. This is all thanks to the revolutionary invention of the phone and the evolution of our phones throughout time. Yes, the phone provides us with countless benefits but there are also some slight disadvantages to the phone such as the lack of privacy that comes from using the phone. Fortunate for us, there are ways that we can prevent this loss of privacy and keep our privacy tight and secured. Ways such as keeping your passwords at a high level of difficulty, keep track of everything on your phone, and protecting your social security number.

Today, individuals are sacrificing privacy in order to feel safe. These sacrifices have made a significant impact on the current meaning of privacy, but may have greater consequences in the future. According to Debbie Kasper in her journal, “The Evolution (Or Devolution) of Privacy,” privacy is a struggling dilemma in America. Kasper asks, “If it is gone, when did it disappear, and why?”(Kasper 69). Our past generation has experienced the baby boom, and the world today is witnessing a technological boom. Technology is growing at an exponential rate, thus making information easier to access and share than ever before. The rapid diminishing of privacy is leaving Americans desperate for change.