Pros And Cons Of Behavioral Tracking And Locational Tracking

The term Global Positioning System conjures up images of GPS devices being used in space-age technology and vehicle navigation systems. GPS tracking devices have also become a part of our daily lives today. However, many people are sceptical about the use of these handy devices. Many people claim that they will face data privacy and security issues on using it. But, how much of this statement is true? Do others have access to your information unless and until you share them? It is true that the person having access to the GPS tracker will know the exact location of the concerned individual.

With the evolution of technology and the internet, there have been upcoming concerns concerning information privacy. The internet has increased the level of information that can be gathered and analyzed. Over the last decade, there have been groundbreaking improvements in technology which have enhanced whet people can d with the technology at any given time. For instance, through the use of the internet, one can use global system positioning system locators to acquire real time data about a person or object’s movement and speed. This was not nearly possible thirty years ago. Another example is that cell phones embedded with E-911 services can be used to locate an individual’s precise location (Waldo, Lin and Millett, 2007). Such devices are mostly used by parents to monitor their children’s whereabouts.

Do you know who is tracking your movements when your turn on your cell phone, or what is being done with that information? These are questions that I recently had to ask myself after reading two insightful articles. The first was by Ronald Bailey called “Your Cellphone is Spying on You” and the other was by Terry J. Allen entitled “Reach Out and Track Someone”. In Ronald Bailey’s article, he explores the use of cellular phone tracking technology by law enforcement and their recent attempts to expand the surveillance laws to include more use of cell phones to track users’ movements without their knowledge. In addition he gives us some perspective on the idea of a big brother watching over us by examining what a

Throughout history each new-fangled communication revolution arrived with warnings and forecasts of the upcoming termination of civilization as we know it. In Nikki Swartz article “Mobile Phone Tracking Scrutinized," and "Reach Out and Track Someone," published by Terry J. Allen, are two articles that address the topic of accessible cell phone tracking data. Both of the articles list the companies who are guilty of obtaining and possessing the information of people’s whereabouts via cellphones. Swartz scrutiny on whether cell phone tracking by the government is right or wrong, and Allen’s belief that unauthorized phone tracking should be allowed and that law enforcement and government use this information to solve crimes and aid in putting the people who do horrible things in our society away, have forced me to consider how cell phones have affected the lives of American citizens.

The focus of this blog entry (and indeed my own area of preparation for the seminar) will be electronic tracking. I hope to examine some of the measured benefits of such technology, and address some of the more ethical issues surrounding the topic- particularly the balance between practical benefit and theoretical loss of liberty.

“Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty” is an essay written by Nicholas Carr in 2010 in the Wall Street Journal. He said that there are chances that, “our personal data will fall into the wrong hands” (Carr 438). It means that people’s personal information might drop under the hands of hackers, data aggressors, and stalkers. In addition, Carr believes that “personal information may be used to influence our behavior and even our thoughts in ways that are invisible to us” (Carr 439). It means that the data aggressors misuse people’s information in opposite way or in a wrong way. For example, data aggressors steal the people’s personal information and use that information for their own benefits. Therefore, Carr believes that government should regulate the internet. Unlike Carr, Harper believes that people are responsible for their own information. They should be aware and concerned about potential dangers of posting their personal information on the internet. However, it’s people duty to be aware of its consequences before posting any of their personal

The espionage of the United States’ government is a controversial issue these days. Espionage is the gathering of information without the permission or warrant of the holder of the information. Within the rapid technological development, the variety of tools for espionage are available in the United States; it can be obtained by tracking, surveillance, wiretapping, etc. Specifically, Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking system is one of the significant topics for espionage. Recently, many people including drivers, hikers, and manufacturers often use GPS to see the directions to their destinations, to locate themselves one a trail map, or to keep track of their delivering products. However, today’s controversy with GPS device is that police also uses it to determine suspects’ locations and movements. It is the most advanced technological device to effectively track and monitor suspects and offenders using satellites. Therefore, some people argue that the use of GPS tracking should be increased and should not need warrants, while others assert that GPS devices to track suspects raise legal problems, so Supreme Court should limits police use of GPS tracking. There are many positive and negative aspects of it. According to the article “Do Police Need Warrants For GPS Tracking Devices?,” the author says that the reason for controversy of GPS tracking devices is that “Police, quite naturally, want to use new technology to get the goods on the bad guys, and citizens, quite

Everyone today is being monitored in some way, shape, or form whether you know it or not. Some of the employees, such as patient care technicians and nurses, at the Florida Hospital Celebration Health are being tracked every step they take. In each badge there is a sensor that calculates how many times a worker visits their patient’s room and the nurse’s station. They have had this form of a tracking mechanism for over 35 years (Katz 1). This is just another illustration of how people are tracked unnecessarily

In the text “A Surveillance Society,”, authors William E. Thompson and Joseph V. Hickey provided information about growing surveillance trends, new types of technology, and the impact of the surveillance. First, many surveillance trends are becoming more popular all throughout the world. Today, there are cameras everywhere you go, whether it is on the streets or in grocery stores, almost all of the time people are being watched. Since the technology of surveillance is more common, a lot of people are being photographed many times during the day. Even if it is not a photograph of your face, the cameras can photograph your license plate and link the car back to you. A main reason these surveillance trends are growing

One way tracking devices does this is it gives the cellphone and GPS companies an insight as to where you are at all times. In the article “How Your Cell Phone Make Spying Easier for the Government and Police” written by Susanne Posel she demonstrates how governmental agencies and wireless companies are tracking individuals without us even realizing it. Posel states “‘ Your phone company knows where you live...and even where you are.’” This statement concludes that no matter how safe you keep your electronics, your information is never truly secure. One way this relates to the book 1984 is how Winston is constantly being observed by the inner party on telescreens around the city. As read in the book, the government knew where Winston was at all times because they tracked all of his locations just like GPS does on cellphones and cars. Another way tracking devices brings us closer to the world of Big Brother is when purchasing online items other companies are able to take advantage by displaying their ads that we as consumers will find interesting. Sonny Ganguly argues that social media advertising is quickly taking over the internet. Gangly states “ Social media advertising helps businesses find new potential clients by using users’ own shared information to identify interest.” This observation is

The book 1984, written by George Orwell was a revolutionary novel about his prediction of the future, which showed people with hardly any independent power and under constant surveillance by “the party”. At the time this book came out (1949) the future Orwell described seemed like pure fiction, but as the years go by the future he envisioned is becoming more and more like a reality. The main thing that is creating this reality is today’s technology, which could be used to track or get information from people, similar to technology in 1984.

Technological surveillance is used in a wide field of areas from wiretapping, hacking, bugging, electronic tracking, video surveillance and so on, but, “when used by the government, technological surveillance creates a particularly dramatic threat to the privacy of individual citizens” (p. 354), although this is uncertain to the government if it is indeed goes against citizen’s privacy. Technology advances so quickly, that the law cannot keep up with the swift changes.

It is known that systems have been created that monitor the activity of every citizen

Today, we can send information all over the world instantly; however movement and activities can be tracked through computers and cell phones. With new and improved technology, it can improve lives, increase public safety, build wealth and promote efficiencies in how we use scarce resources. Researchers,

While Swartz and Allen agree that the use cell phone tracking logs must be monitored and used cautiously, they strongly disagree on the role cell phone companies, law enforcement and government are playing in monitoring the use of the technology. I find Swartz’s view to be based in logic and not emotion. The view that Swartz presents is more balanced. She believes that the government and judicial system are working diligently to ensure that the rights of citizens are protected. In this article Swartz does not seem to recognize the invasion of privacy that this technology poses, she also seems to ignore the way that police and state could abuse the technology.