Blog Post No.8 Privacy Rights

The right to privacy is not clearly stated in the United States Consitution or Bill of Rights. Over time this right has become incorporated in different clauses of the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Ninth Amendments. There are distinct rules to what the government can and cannot due regarding privacy but there are several instances the government violates these rights. For almost two decades the Denver Police collected information on activists operating in the area. Approximately 1,500pages were made public and released information about individuals they themselves were not aware of. Glen Morris, a Native American activist, found out that someone planned to murder him. Morris is just one of many examples of the government trampling privacy rights and violating the Constitution.

 

In the case of private institutions, the policy and laws on privacy have limitations. Social media companies add clauses in their terms and conditions to allow for surveillance. On Netflix, there is a documentary entitled “The Social Dilemma” that investigates the design of social media and its ability to manipulate its user by collecting data on them. One of the most notable quotes from the film is by Daniel Hövermann, “If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product”.  Social media companies are collecting your information and selling it to others to make a profit. Cellular devices are always listening and tracking. This is evident all the time.  If you mention or text about a company or product it is very likely an ad for the same product will be on your feed within days or even hours. Christopher Soghoian explains in her speech that our phones are always surveilling and others have the ability to access this information.