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Jonathan Alley
Professor Lynn Burgess
ENC1102 – TR 4:05-5:20P
March 27, 2014 – Attended In-Class Workshop
Privacy and Technology: Some Assembly May Be Required
Right now, at this very moment, a computer system is tracking you. It follows your digital
trail, waiting for the perfect moment to act – just before it hacks everything you own. Privacy is
being strangled to death when it comes to the objectives of national security, new technologies and
businesses, especially with developments such as these:
And new tracking technologies are just around the corner: companies are building
facial recognition technology into phones and cameras, technology to monitor your
location is being embedded into vehicles, wireless “smart” meters that gauge the
power usage of your home are being developed, and Google has developed Glass,
tiny cameras embedded in eyeglasses that allow people to take photos and videos
without lifting a finger. (Angwin)
Nevertheless, it is clearly becoming the number one casualty in the progression of these
subjects. Privacy is frequently thought of as the ability to sequester intimate or personal information
and effects from others; perhaps in a different age such would be still true. In effect however, the
domain of privacy has expanded proportionally as one's ability to disseminate information increased.
Technology is intertwined with most aspects of our everyday lives, consequently our demand for
privacy did not keep pace with these rapidly advancing tools. Recent efforts in the European Union
(EU) indicate as such: currently they are implementing a massive overhaul to privacy and data
protection. While beneficial uses for this data collectively have been demonstrated, such as

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scientific research and crime prevention, there is a considerable need to exercise caution with the
use of these technologies. Abuses such as the NSA's TURBINE program show there is a significant
need to reexamine our considerations of privacy; programs such as this undermine the privacy of
data worldwide. Advances in visual technologies such as flash and video photography are simply
shrinking the unrecorded portions of everyday life, with many public places already being
unknowingly recorded and monitored (Angwin). Businesses play an integral role in this as they
supply many of the methods one may employ to interface socially online; frequently contracting
services and information to law enforcement agencies for surveillance purposes. With technology
pressing forward on all frontiers, is privacy being lost in the rush?
Technology has changed the fundamentals of privacy, information once regarded as private
can now be employed against anyone considering the mass surveillance in play. Beginning with the
census (an early form of government data collection and aggregation), this early surveillance
technique was instrumental in persecuting a number of different groups: draft dodgers, the Japanese
and Jewish peoples, among many others. Abuse of census data is not incidental only to these time
periods – consequently, Australia's treatment of their aboriginal people and the effects of the
Apartheid are very recent examples. Indeed, much of today's privacy laws find their roots in the
struggles of these groups and the protection of their rights. Surveillance such as census data abuse
has only continued to develop and evolve into more drastic malefactions within governments as
new gray areas arose for exploitation. Consider the FBI program COINTELPRO from the 1960's –
J. Edgar Hoover's pet program for demoralizing and spying on “subversives”, which relied on
gathering personal information through electronic mediums (Angwin). The FBI used this program
to harass and defame Martin Luther King Jr. among other notable persons, even a titan such as this
great man struggled under the FBI's assault of their private information (Angwin). While the US
Census has aboded by privacy laws since its previous violations, this shows how even the most
basic collections of data have a potential to harm many. As Angwin concludes, “These stories

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illustrate a simple truth: information is power. Anyone who holds a vast amount of information
about us has power over us.” Privacy is the key to maintaining and strengthening trust among
members of society; it must be our bare assumption that one does not live under continuous scrutiny.
Governments use of surveillance has seen an explosive expansion in the past few years. This
is generally accepted due to the accelerated pace at which technologies are developed that are
relevant to national security. After the September 11th attacks and the requisite legislation passed
thereafter (The USA PATRIOT Act), through this authorization the NSA has spurred hooks into
internet and cellular service providers globally, supposedly to provide them with the ability to tune
into potential terrorists and other perceived threats. This led to a growing dissent about the types of
information the NSA were collecting, considering that the majority of cellular information recently
leaked originates from Verizon. Uncharacteristically, Dutch Ruppersberger, a US Congressman on
the House intelligence committee proposed legislation to end the bulk collection of cell phone data
by the NSA (Ackerman). The congressman attempted to coordinate with NSA officials in order to
restore the credibility of the agency among US citizens, by passing legislation that would limit mass
surveillance activities of the NSA despite his long held beliefs on the benefits of current techniques
(Ackerman). These acts by the government and its administration to make only a few of the NSA's
activities respect privacy rights are certainly falling short of the mark. These attempts to restructure
would leave the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) courts largely intact as they are,
having little to no effect on how the appeals process effects the NSA. This leaves little to no
supervision of surveillance activities and programs, thus no redress for violations, as these courts
operate in secret and never deny any requests. Concurrently, the most certain consequence of all
these developments is that it appears the NSA has already begun moving along to other, larger
projects.
The NSA has a variety of responsibilities and duties when it comes to national security, and
while their role in American intelligence is indispensable to military and corporate resources, this

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consequently makes its activities highly secretive. The problem with secretive intelligence is a
severe lack of oversight and regulation and therefore distrust due to its very nature. Likewise, a
complication arises when documents leak about a program known as TURBINE, an automated
system operated by the NSA for worldwide hacking activities. The system is primarily used to
infect millions of computers and devices worldwide and harvest data from the compromised devices,
leaving one with challenging questions for the organization's role in global networks (Gallagher).
The system even goes as far as impersonating websites, generating spam emails, intercepting file
downloads, all of which are implanted with viruses. These viruses can control attached cameras,
microphones and harvest data. Clearly, the largest consequence of these actions nonetheless is the
potential for malicious third parties to exploit these technologies because they are implemented into
basic structures of the internet at “chokepoints” (Gallagher). According to Matthew Blaze, a
University of Pennsylvania surveillance expert, “That’s the last place that we should be allowing
intelligence agencies to compromise the infrastructure – because that is by definition a mass
surveillance technique,” (qtd. in Gallagher). The congressman is right on the money when it comes
to revisiting the NSA's mass surveillance activities, however if anything beneficial for privacy is to
be done, the aim of such legislation must be honed. There is a considerable need for regulation and
oversight of practices like those of the NSA's, as these activities undermine privacy on the whole.
There are many initiatives toward privacy in technology, both in government and business
alike and one must examine their intentions with regard to privacy. Certainly users can take steps to
protect themselves from these types of surveillance, though it can take some expertise to protect
themselves adequately. Most technology consumers subscribe to some form of data protection, and
this awareness has only expanded into further markets. Recent plans from companies indicate there
is a growing global market for privacy in the smartphone industry, and as such FreedomPop and
SGP Technologies unveiled their individual plans for an encrypted wireless service (Dwoskin). As
Dwoskin cites: “Forrester Research says 8% of Internet users have downloaded a service that allows

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them to see which companies are tracking their browsing habits.” This supplants the growing
awareness of privacy online; users are already beginning to shift their habits in response to the
continued surveillance of their every digital move. This only begins to address such issues,
considering the variety of personal information that is continually abused. As Brian Schneier, Chief
Technology Officer at Co3 Systems, describes: “The Federal Trade Commission is now looking at
what to do about cellphone tracking in stores. You can be surveilled in a store because you're
carrying a phone. We've moved into an era when we are always observed,” (Poppick). By contrast,
the EU is doing a far better job of protecting privacy than the FTC. By striking out any potential
gray areas for business and government to expand their surveillance techniques, the EU has
reestablished the credibility of their networks. As Meyer reports, “This would include much higher
fines for breaches of data protection law in the EU, the limited right for citizens to demand the
erasure of their personal data, and strict limitations on what can be done with EU citizens’ data
outside the union.” These strides forward in privacy policy represent the type of forward thinking
necessary for privacy's survival in this technological singularity. If any true progress is to be made,
it must be through the trust and understanding of society.
Currently, there are a myriad of complications that face the subject of privacy today. Society
must adapt to the progression of technology and learn to respect the role of privacy in human
culture. Governments may find the use of surveillance indispensable for maintaining operations and
security, yet they must refrain from alienating their citizens through constant surveillance. Privacy
is not an acceptable collateral for security – is this not the reason for the security to begin with?
Transparency will be instrumental in returning government intelligence activities to an ethical state
and the only true avenue for redemption. Recourse mast begin with legislation and political bodies,
and additionally through working with the private sector and individuals. Society may still be able
to ameliorate some of the escalating abuses of surveillance already perpetrated worldwide by both
governments and corporations. Outreach by advocates of privacy continue to grow by the day,

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through educating ourselves on these subjects we may make true progress in privacy. The most
certain fact after all is that privacy has been devastated, we all must act to fix it now!

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Works Cited:
Angwin, Julia. "Here’s How You May Already Be Getting Hacked." BillMoyerscom. Public Affairs
Television, Inc., 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Gallagher, Ryan, and Glenn Greenwald. "How the NSA Plans to Infect 'Millions' of Computers
with Malware." The Intercept. First Look Productions, Inc., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Mar.
2014.
Meyer, David. "Web Firms Face a Strict New Set of Privacy Rules in Europe — Here’s What to
Expect" Gigaom. Gigaom, Inc., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Dwoskin, Elizabeth. "Encrypted Phones Emerge to Keep Prying Eyes Out." Wall Street Journal -
Eastern Edition 05 Mar. 2014: B5. Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Ackerman, Spencer. "Top Democrat on House Intelligence Panel Offers New NSA Reform Plan."
Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Poppick, Susie. "The Big Question: Is My Data Safe?." Money 43.3 (2014): 82. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.