online privacy
A variety of TED talks touch on the subject of individual privacy in an online global world. Private companies and governments alike are beginning to monitor private individuals on a mass scale, and anything they record or anything that is upload about us online is likely to outlive ourselves. Privacy is a dying commodity and many people do not even realize it. While I personally do not have any issue with the government and police forces taking pictures of my license plate when I pass them I do have an issue with private companies our entities outside the government having access to this information.
The online world is vastly unregulated and it is often up to 3rd party distributors to take down any potentially harmful information. We saw this recently with Tumblr's crackdown on pornography on their site. But If these companies do not want to crack down in a similar power then victims who have had intimate photos or details of their life plastered online have very little power to get those images removed. In this realms, I would plead not for censorship but rather for increased regulation where any individual could simply withdraw consent for their media to be posted and it would instantly be taken down.
As I say this, I also understand the need for surveillance both on and offline. we live in a dangerous age and I can see the benefit of having police take photos of every license plate they pass. In the event, that crime was ever committed. law enforcement could greatly benefit from being able to search their data and find out that a suspect passed an officer or a scanner ten minutes ago in this area. I personally have nothing to hide. if they want to notice that I drive from my dorm to class to work to the grocery store that is fine with me. While I understand that bad implication of this practice with police potentially monitoring and flagging anyone who visits a mosque or similar location even in this instance I can see benefits for investigative purposes. If any type of attack were to take place by any individual police already look for associates to assist the investigation and gain insight into the modus operandi of the criminal, this monitoring would only simplify this process.
The online world is vastly unregulated and it is often up to 3rd party distributors to take down any potentially harmful information. We saw this recently with Tumblr's crackdown on pornography on their site. But If these companies do not want to crack down in a similar power then victims who have had intimate photos or details of their life plastered online have very little power to get those images removed. In this realms, I would plead not for censorship but rather for increased regulation where any individual could simply withdraw consent for their media to be posted and it would instantly be taken down.
As I say this, I also understand the need for surveillance both on and offline. we live in a dangerous age and I can see the benefit of having police take photos of every license plate they pass. In the event, that crime was ever committed. law enforcement could greatly benefit from being able to search their data and find out that a suspect passed an officer or a scanner ten minutes ago in this area. I personally have nothing to hide. if they want to notice that I drive from my dorm to class to work to the grocery store that is fine with me. While I understand that bad implication of this practice with police potentially monitoring and flagging anyone who visits a mosque or similar location even in this instance I can see benefits for investigative purposes. If any type of attack were to take place by any individual police already look for associates to assist the investigation and gain insight into the modus operandi of the criminal, this monitoring would only simplify this process.
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