Big Brother Is Still Watching

-- By ChevaunSamuels - 11 Oct 2019

Most people today, whether it is big or small, rely on the help of technology. Commonly, these individuals cannot go through their day without the use of technological innovations such as computers, internet connection, printers, applications, and file storage. As technology continues to improve and our society modernizes, it has become easier and easier to access these technological innovations.

In the early 2000s, many households only had access to one computer, and individuals within the home could not use the telephone when they were connected to the internet. In today’s society, kids as young as 5 have access to the world through their handheld devices. Despite the burning sensation from cellphones and software malfunctions from laptops, it would be an extraneous task to try to remove the technology from these individuals.

This introduction doesn't tell us what your subject is: it starts so broadly that the reader has no idea where you are going. By the time the reader is 100 words in, she should know where you are heading.

In January 2019, Apple disabled its Group FaceTime? feature in iPhones after multiple reports that users could initiate a FaceTime? call and begin listening in on a recipient’s audio without them picking up the call or knowing they were being monitored.

This descends from the completely general to the utterly specific. That doesn't help the reader understand the scope and purpose of the essay she is reading.

The bug occurred after a user-initiated a FaceTime? video call with another iPhone or device running iOS and added themselves to the call while it was dialing. This created a conference call that allowed the user to eavesdrop on the audio transmitted by the recipient.

Some sourcing would be useful. One link to some reliable reporting....

This security lapse is especially significant because, like other software companies, Apple markets itself as a consumer tech company dedicated to privacy and security.

What does this mean? Software failures result from failures of software making, distribution or use. As with other products, product defects that cause harm should produce legal liability that injured parties can prove in order to get appropriate relief. Is what's significant that this doesn't happen?

While many of the apps we have on our phones can be beneficial to us, we are sacrificing a lot of our privacy by using these apps. Privacy is slowly diminishing and as kids are growing up in modern society, they will have no concept of privacy. They will also not have the ability to understand that nothing digital is ever forgotten or destroyed.

Why won't kids have the ability to understand this if they are taught?

After the NSA leaks, Americans were divided about the impact of the leaks immediately following Snowden’s disclosures, but according to a Pew Research Center survey, about half of Americans (49%) said the release of the classified information served the public interest, while 44% said it harmed the public interest. At the same time, 54% of the public said the government should pursue a criminal case against the person responsible for the leaks, a view more commonly held among Republicans and Democrats (59% each) than independents (48%). The share of Americans who disapproved of the government’s collection of telephone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts increased from 47% in the days after the initial disclosure to 53% the following January. Fast forward to today, many people are aware of the lack of privacy that they have when it comes to their technology.

Why give detailed information about public opinion in the past and no information about public opinion in the present? The "fast forward" doesn't lead to much understanding unless there is some basis for comparison over time.

It was very prevalent based on user reaction to the Apple FaceTime? bug. Despite this revelation and many others like it, people are still using the same apps that are lacking true privacy. These individuals are willingly accepting privacy policies that are designed to give users ultimatums.

As much as we can blame users for the usage of these apps and other technology that put them at risk, the blame is not solely on them.

Why should we blame users at all? That's convenient for the providers of defective products and services, but what is the principle of justice or argument of social welfare that justifies blaming the consumer for the harm done?

An analyst described that when a user of apps like WhatsApp? , Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram…etc., grants access to their camera and microphone, the app could do the following: access both the front and back camera; record you at any time the app is in the foreground; take pictures and videos without telling you; and, upload the pictures and videos without telling you. App producers should find ways to put users’ rights first,

Perhaps this would be the useful place to explain that "ways to put users' rights first" are what the free software movement is about, and what the ways are that we put in place and that would help here too.

so their information is not put in jeopardy. Although there are privacy regulations in place, there needs to be better regulations to protect users.

Here, in "there needs to be better regulations," is an example of an agreement problem: the verb and its object should agree in number. This is the sort of sentence-level editing that, as I said on the last draft, you need to be scrupulous about in your professional writing. One careful final read will always catch these problems.

As well as details of your device such as the model, name and phone number these trackers can you’re your email address, the IP address that is allocated to your internet connection and even your precise location. Everything from music streaming and weather apps, through to news and storage apps are doing it.

A good first step for counteracting these issues is to always make sure to cover your webcam with tape and cover your phone camera when possible.

How does that help with web tracking, with location selling, with all the other sensor-based data flow out of the handset? What source produced this advice?

Apps like LinkedIn? does not need camera access. Apps like Twitter does not require microphone access. Before you download an app, check the reviews and search for any negative information about it to prevent yourself from future harm. You never know who’s watching, or what’s happening in the background on your device. You do not want to take precautions when it is too late.

This account of the problem concentrates only on a few handset sensors, and assumes that only behavior collection, rather than targeted stimulation, is going on. So it can't give a full picture of the threat involved, and its advice about mitigation falls very short.


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