Wayne C wrote: > On Wed, Dec 30, 2009 at 5:35 PM, Russell Polo < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > There are a lot of issues here but for me they all boil down to the failure > > of the laws (and the people behind them) to catch up. > > > > My understanding is that anti lock breaks have data recorders in them that > > have been used aginst the car owners in accidents. ( record speed +stopping > > times ) It's something I remember reading about but right now I can't find > > the links. > > > > I've just gotten a droid phone, and it has the lattitue app that will let > > me share and see the location of my friends and for them to see me. Google > > seems upfront about respecting my privacy, but they have the data so if > > they want to use it, or the government wants/asks them for it they are going > > to get it. .... (no need to hack into the phone) > > > > I'm sure we all have seen NCIS or other crime dramas where the cops locate > > somebody by locating their cellphone in moments. I'd like to think the > > process takes longer and is a little harder than they make it seem. But I do > > know it can be and is done. What I don't know is what level of probable > > cause is needed for the govt to request this data. Or do they argue that > > it's like our phone bill , that they can see just because they want to. I'd > > disagree with that argument. > > > > I would personally LIKE a black box recorder that recorded (with video) > > from my car. Ideally this could be used in an investigation after an > > accident. My only stipulation is that the data enclosed be considered part > > of my own testimony such that I could plead the 5th and not release it. If > > that was the rule, I think you would see a lot of these types of devices. > > But I wouldn't have one if I could be compelled to reveal its contents. > > > > Sadly It is very rare to see these issues delt with sensibly in the > > political arena. My hope is that the generation the grew up with these thing > > all around will fix the laws to deal with them properly. > > > > --Russell > > > My reason for mentioning Chrome, Wave and Android was not meant to imply > that these products have created a new problem, it just kind of triggered > within me an increased recognition of a potential problem. > > I appreciate the point that why worry about someone placing an app on the > phone to track you when the more imediate issue is the government or > business can already do this whole sale. And if someone can track you via > your phone at all there is no reason why it should be slow. > > When I mentioned chasing the latest technology I was talking more about the > software, social networking, information transmission type of thing. > Certainly the ever increasing trend of buying stuff and throwing it away is > a huge problem. I was wandering around the net in the time before the web. > BBS was cool, COMPUSERVE!!!! how can you beat that. What is this WWW crap. > Now I go camping and am constantly annoyed because I can't answer any little > question instantly with google. Is the service provided worth the loss of > privacy? You've probably seen this <http://www.aclu.org/pizza/> > > Social Security numbers were only to link you to your SS benefit. Now try to > go through life with out giving out that number. > > First it was red light cameras, only to see if someone runs a red light. Now > they scan for license plates, of course only looking for criminals. Of > course they have a huge amount of data telling them where a whole bunch of > people are at certain times.......Well as long as it doesn't fall into > unscrupulous hands, oh, wait, the government already has it.... As far as > government crafting laws to address these issues.....government is creating > these issues (we have seen the enemy and they are us!) > > I guess we have a good idea of what can be done and I for one assume it will > be abused. The question in my mind as we revel in all these bright shiny new > tools is what can and should be done to try to preserve at least some shred > of privacy and freedom? (How about "Minority Report"?)
I think there are two reasons we've seen so little regard for privacy: 1) most people don't care very much about privacy. 2) most people are blissfully unaware of how much information is collected and stored about them. As evidence of the first point, consider the blogosphere. A whole generation of us are putting our entire lives online in plain view, effectively trading privacy for attention. I don't think people care about privacy until the lack of it hits them in the face. Like when you get a DMCA notice from your ISP because you were torrenting the latest episode of a (most likely bad) network TV show. Or when your employer presents you with a history of e-mails demonstrating your incompetence. Or when you discover that ceiling cat is watching you masturbate. That's when you think "my God, I have no privacy!" Until then you have the illusion of privacy because no one is feeding the information back to you. You don't have privacy, what you have is ignorance. IMO, one of the best ways to combat this is to remove that ignorance. Put all of that information out there so people are aware of just how much of their lives are visible. Run a webcam. Send your friends links to the places that they are referenced on the network. (Try to avoid publishing information illegally cracked out of private systems, that just turns up the heat on the technologists - much easier to start jailing people than fixing security holes) If nothing else, the ubiquitous exchange of personal information levels the playing field: it's hard to be Big Brother while under constant scrutiny. Apologies for the mini-sermon, I've got way too much free time today. > > > Thanks all for your thoughtful insights and opinions. > > > > > > As always, the opinions presented here are my own and do not necessarily represent those of my employer :-) ============================================================================= michaelMuller = [email protected] | http://www.mindhog.net/~mmuller ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. - Thomas Paine ============================================================================= _______________________________________________ Mid-Hudson Valley Linux Users Group http://mhvlug.org http://mhvlug.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mhvlug Upcoming Meetings (6pm - 8pm) MHVLS Auditorium Dec 2 - MythTV Jan 6 - Git
