Online Privacy? What's that?

 In the TedTalk by Juan Enriquez, he speaks about how your digital footprint serves as an online tattoo. Tattoos are permanent, and so is your digital footprint. No matter how hard you try to cover up your tracks, whether it's clearing your search history, using an incognito browser, or even logging in and out of accounts to remove your name from certain systems, there is always a digital footprint. Personally, I don't think the government should be able to collect this kind of information. Why should they look deep into my digital footprint to try and predict my next move online?

Whenever you open a new program, get a new iPhone, or even just create a new Target account, you are asked whether you agree to the terms and conditions. Now, do you actually read the terms of service? Probably not. However, this one click is a big part of your digital footprint. This accept button is locking you into a contract, called a Contract Law. This is a contract where one party has negotiating power, meaning as soon as you hit the accept button on a terms of use agreement, you have waived those rights to complain.

Data Mining is another huge invasion of privacy often used by social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. The photos and videos you upload to these platforms don't only go to your friends. They are in the eye of everyone, including those working for those companies. There are computer systems that search through images, and display advertisements based on what you post about. For example, if I were to post a photo on Instagram while holding my new puppy, most likely, I'd get ads for PetSmart, BarkBox, Chewy, and other pet brands, to try and entice me to purchase things for my new furry friend. How did they know I got a new puppy? Data mining. 

As much as I benefit from the personalized ads, I think it is a complete invasion of my privacy. Although I choose to share certain things online, I only think it goes to my friends. My family information can even be viewed! The government and other companies have free access to any of our information, which is unbelievable to me. I think they should have to pay for our information to only learn about us as a population, not as individuals.