I assume by the title of this blog, most people are going to think that the contents of this piece will include disgruntled accusations against the NSA (National Security Agency) of the US government. However, I actually want to bring my audience’s attention to the private sector, and private companies such as Samsung, Apple, and etc. Most consumers do not realize how much these companies are overstepping their boundaries by monitoring their lives in their own homes, and they are doing it using the very devices we are purchasing from them. Such as your Androids, iPad, iPhone, and tablets and the companies are doing so at their own discretion.
When I first became suspicious of my conversations being recorded was last Christmas at a family gathering. I was at my aunt’s house and I asked my cousin where she had gotten her pants from because they were cute, and I wanted a pair. During the conversation she told me that she had ordered the pants from Zulily. Then, over the next few days every time I got online for anything, all the advertisements were Zulily, and also popups. At first I thought no way, and began having conversations with friends and family asking if it were possible that we were being spied on for marketing. Or maybe I was just paranoid. Or was it all just a coincidence, and there was no connection. So I started to do a little research to see if it were possible that someone had been listening to what I was saying.
The things I discovered as I dug into the aspect that my phone was being used as a device for marketing became very upsetting. I can understand how it would be possible to use apps such as Pinterest, and Facebook to see what my interests are because that is a public forum. To discover that not only apps that I had personally downloaded, but also apps that had been preinstalled by the manufacturer on my phone, had the permission to invade my privacy did not sit well with me at all. As I started to investigate how the apps worked and the permissions that were given for the apps, I realized that not only are they allowed to record audio and video and take pictures, but they can also use my email and texts to send messages without my knowledge. The aspect of all this that really blew my mind, was that the company could also charge me for their use, without my knowledge.
I assume a certain level of “expectation of privacy” in my home, even though I do realize that constitutionally we do not have any specific laws governing privacy. This is due to the government’s rights for suspicion of illegal activity by a citizen, which is “search and seizure.” Nevertheless, I do expect some protection from companies who feel that it is ok to record our lives at will. Previously the only way we have had to try to protect ourselves from such invasion was rooting our phones. This is a process that allows you to access the operating system codes for your device, which gives you the ability to modify the software codes or delete any unwanted apps that have been made inaccessible to the consumer by the manufacturer. This avenue did come with risks. The manufacturer had stated that once the phone had been rooted, this made the manufacturer’s warranty no longer valid. This made the consumer responsible for anything that happened to the phone, regardless of when purchased. Until recently.
A new bill has been passed stating that consumers are no longer at risk of losing their warranty due to rooting their phones. The manufacturer can no longer apply this rule to scare the consumer into keeping only the manufacturer’s settings, which only benefits the manufacturer. But are public administrations doing enough to protect the consumer from such companies? Also, how it is possible that laws have been set in place to confront the issues of camera phones and their misuse, yet it does not apply to corporations. Such as the “Video Voyeurism Prevention Act of 2004” [it was] passed through Congress virtually unopposed. What does this mean to you? It means that when it comes to having your picture taken without your permission, you have some rights.” (https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/smile-youre-on-my-cell-phone-camera-phones-and-privacy) How come even though this law exists, it does not apply to everyone? Are regulations being implemented fairly?