Privacy (vs. Piracy): Part 1 of 2

Privacy vs. Piracy. Both boil down to one concern: regulating the internet. To control or not control the online world. Ideas, research and reflections.

privacy  |ˈprīvəsē|  noun.
1. The state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people.
2. The state of being free from public attention.
3. The condition of being secret; secrecy.
 
SYNONYMS: seclusion, solitude, isolation, freedom from disturbance, freedom from interference.
Other definition information found at Dictionary.com

When was the last time you checked your privacy settings on Twitter? When was the last time you opted out of tracking? When was the last time you cared? Most people react to these questions with their own confusion... "Am I supposed to care about that?" You decide...

"Every time you visit a site that has a follow button, a 'tweet' button or a hover-card, Twitter is recording your behavior. It is transparently watching your movements and storing them somewhere for later use," explained Dustin Curtis in his blog post about Twitter's sneaky tracking methods.
For the time being, that data is collected for the tweeter's personal benefit; it is used to make more relevant suggestions for other accounts you might want to follow. Curtis wonders what other things that data could be used for. He says, "The privacy implications of such behavior by a company so large are sweeping and absolute."

Curtis urges all of us to ask ourselves the same questions he wonders about:

• If tracking your behavior transparently is acceptable in the pursuit of a better user experience, why isn't it also acceptable in the pursuit of monetization? 
• Is it okay for Twitter to sell your web browsing history to advertisers?
• How many people have access to the data Twitter is collecting? 
• Can any Twitter employee who has production database access look at Mitt Romney's browsing history? Can they look at your browsing history?

Curtis said he is not surprised that Twitter, and almost certainly Facebook, are partaking in this kind of data collection, but doesn't agree with it. Curtis declares that this activity is a violation of privacy and trust. The data is not only being collected but stored and re-distributed. And even though Twitter, and Facebook (and other social media power houses) outline their privacy policies extensively, their word choice is a careful science created to reaffirm your safety but still leave room for transparency.

Earlier this year, Twitter amended its privacy policy, agreeing to abide by its host nation's laws. 
Forbes contributor, Erik Kain, refers to  Jeff Bercovi's insight on the topic. Bercovi said, "Twitter's helping France and Turkey clamp down on free speech without inconveniencing users in other countries."

Kain and Bercovi agree that this form of tailored privacy is not brand new and hardly unprecedented. Google has been blocking search results in China for years. But that's not the real issue of concern. Kain says that the real problem is the implications Twitter's new privacy policies have on governments and countries as a whole. Kain references John Villasenor of UCLA who wrote, "For the first time ever, it will be technologically and financially feasible for authoritarian governments to record nearly everything that is said or done within their borders."

Image Source: Forbes

On one hand, there is safety to consider. Kain cites Villasenor again arguing, "Pervasive monitoring will provide what amounts to a time machine allowing authoritarian government to perform retrospective surveillance." In other words, it will be possible to go back in time to examine phone records, bank statements, online activity etc. to compile a file of all events and transactions leading up to criminal's arrest.


But not everyone is a criminal and shouldn't be "tweeted" as such. Kain reminds us, like any powerful tool that dominates humanity, technology is an especially sharp double-edge sword

Sources: 
Coelho, Paulo, "My thoughts on SOPA," Paulo Coelho's blog accessed via http://www.diigo.com/user/andersand/SOPA

Curtis, Dustin, "Twitter is tracking you on the web" accessed via http://www.diigo.com/user/andersand/privacy
 
Kain, Erik, "Twitter censorship and the future of authoritarianism in a high-tech world," Forbes
accessed via http://www.diigo.com/user/andersand/censorship