TED Talk Video Analysis: Tracking Our Online Trackers

Nicholas Carr uses his article “Tracking is an Assault on Liberty, With Real Dangers” to explain the dangers of tracking on internet users by using real life examples. The first example that Carr uses is about a man named Tom Owad, who found

Greenwald does an exceptional job of diving into the meat and potatoes of the issue, and gets right at its core with an essential question we need to ask ourselves in our growing digital world: “Why does our privacy matter?” In his TED Talk: Why Privacy Matters Greenwald explains how the Internet, which has been hailed for the liberation it brought is now being used as a zone of mass discriminant surveillance (Greenwald, 2014). It seems as though whenever the topic is brought up most ignorant people immediately assume that if the government is watching, it is okay as long as you don’t have anything to hide. With this train of thought comes the idea that there are clear lines between “good” people and “bad” people in this world, and its essentially okay for a computer to determine whether or not someone is good or bad based on a collection of phone records, Google searches and associates on social media. The group of those saying that there is no harm done in the breaching of ones privacy are those who have accepted that they are in no way shape or form a threat to our government in any case. To me, that is something that is simply unacceptable in a functioning democracy. If people are so willing to give up every aspect of their daily lives to the government, it becomes easier to track the exact schedules and routines of certain individuals and on a grand scale, the impending results can be more than scary. Greenwald explains that there has been many studies held that prove that when humans know they are being watched, their behavior dramatically changes compared to if they think they are alone. After someone realizes they are being observed they quickly start conforming to their surroundings because they’ve become imprisoned in their own minds for fear of

    Abstract:  This paper provides an analysis of the privacy issues associated with governmental Internet surveillance, with a focus on the recently disclosed FBI tool known as Carnivore. It concludes that, while some system of surveillance is necessary, more mechanisms to prevent abuse of privacy must exist.

The Internet powers our country. Not only do hundreds of millions of Americans use it daily, our government and states use it to do important national and international business. Our government already utilizes it to monitor the activity of its people. This monitoring has especially risen after events such as the Boston Bombing and the attacks of 9/11. The main reason that the government does this is to keep us safe. If the government puts more slack on this matter, then it will give a chance for terrorists to complete their objective. The normal person does not know how many terrorist attacks may have been stopped in the past years due to this surveillance, and how many lives it may have saved. Therefore, we cannot let our government halt

He then uses ethos by discussing his role as “an operator of a small government-transparency Web site,” who does good for his site’s visitors when there is enough money to do so. Harper is a founding member of the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee for the Department of Homeland Security and an expert in the legal complications surrounding new technologies. He offers us this role to persuade readers to perceive him as a trustworthy person. Harper begins his essay by stating that if you surf the Web, you are part of the information economy. His essay, which was published in the Wall Street Journal, argues that the business models and opportunities used to customize advertising justifies the use of data mining. Because of advertising and the use of cookies, which are files used to track users in order to customize their experiences, companies such as Google are able to spend millions of dollars on free

In today’s society, the world is seemingly revolved around violence. We are always looking for innovative ways to prevent violence from breaking out. The newly formed terrorist group, ISIS, slaughtered civilians in paris due to explosions they had a hand in. ISIS is the world’s problem today, and their next target is the United States. America can take measures to eradicate this terrorist group, but we are aware that there may be ISIS members hidden in the country already. As a result, the government uses their surveillance technology to search through the digital world in an effort to prevent an attack on our home land. If the Government has the ability to trace calls or to look at someone 's online searches, they might be able to prevent attacks on

Imagine that every search, post, ping, or tweet was tracked by a big corporation or even the government. This is a scary though but in reality, the search history of the American people is a high commodity for big business and the government alike. The purpose of this essay will be to examine the article titled “The Internet is a Surveillance State” by Bruce Schneier. This essay will examine Schneier’s credibility towards the source, the importance of when the article was written, and the ideals Schneier had towards the topic of internet surveillance.

Time Newspaper has learnt that it's not surprising that Internet companies have electronic dossiers that contain personal information for individuals who subscribe to the websites. Generally, these companies have obtained the information from people based on individual's visit to the website, sent and received emails, tagged photos, and searches people carry out. However, the extent of personal information known by these Internet companies has remained largely unknown as well who they provide and/or sell this information to. However, Internet companies continue to gather lots of personal information from different people who focus on carrying out online activities on a daily basis. Currently, it's estimated that these firms gather personal information from nearly 500 million users but are hesitant to provide this information to the other firms or individuals. As their unwillingness to share has attracted significant congressional inquiry, things could finally change in California following the introduction of a bill that may force companies to disclose the kind of personal information they have gathered and how this information is being used.

The integrity of one’s communications and privacy of online activities is the largest casualty of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance over digital lives. Years since September 11, 2009, the NSA’s mass surveillance has greatly expanded due to the heightened concern that new technology can be used by terrorists to plan and execute a terrorist attack. In today’s age of technology, there are easier ways of accessing information and communication as well as new ways of hacking and gathering personal information. The new surveillance programs and regulations are enabled by the Patriot Act and post 9/11 paranoia, but it has been over fourteen years since the incident. After whistleblower, Edward Snowden, it was revealed that the government’s mass surveillance went beyond what many considered acceptable. It can be predicted that unless the U.S Government reins in NSA mass surveillance, the

" The founding fathers created the government to unite, and protect The United States. The government must also be able to protect citizens basic rights. These rights are written as amendments to our constitution. Our government has a duty to protect United States citizens, and with new technology this need for protection has extended to the internet. Federal, state, and local governments have a duty to protect their people, and to do this minimal forms of internet monitoring are needed.

In the essay, “Tracking Is an Assault on Liberty” by Nicholas Carr, he argues the importance of privacy when one is surfing the web. Carr writes how companies personalize ads they provide on the internet based on our personal information. We are not aware of the consequences and the information we disclose about ourselves on the internet. Everything we do on the internet is recorded and stored. Nicholas Carr uses ethos and counter argument/refutation to express to his audience that their privacy is being violated.

There is no doubt the privacy of our online activities and the integrity of our communications have been the biggest casualty of the NSA’s surveillance of our lives. Although ongoing revelations of government eavesdropping have had a profound impact on many different aspects in life. The NSA must balance out their interference with citizens lives because it’s undermining the government's leadership on internet safety, deteriorating internet security, and is causing economic losses to U.S. businesses due to decreasing customer trust.

"The extent that the government-federal, state and local have to monitor internet content would be a simple overview to make sure that everyone is alright and there is no alarming content that could be used to hurt others. Only an overview would be necessary to make sure that there are no obvious threats to anyone and if there are any suspected threats to anyone, there should always be a probable cause before any form of the government gets deeply involved into someones internet content because after all everyone should be entitled to privacy unless there is a specific reason that their privacy should be breached then the United States government should be allowed to view their content without restriction to keep people safe. The National Security Agency which is a national security agency that has intelligence over the country that is in the department of defense in the US and is directed by the Director of National

The U.S. Government has turned the Internet into something it was never intended to be: a system for spying on us in our most private moments. Out of control government

“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