BIG BROTHER

​Big brother is watching you.  Unfortunately big brother in our case is not the Federal Government.  Big brother in this internet age is Microsoft, Google and Facebook.  We are living in George Orwell’s world of 1983, times 1000. Except in 2018, we are relinquishing our identity to private companies.  This information we are surrendering to these private concerns would require search warrants if the Federal or State Governments desired to inquire into our life to such an extent.  And these three companies design their products to work in harmony with each other so they can effectively capture every bit of data possible. Because of our connectivity, we are unwittingly giving our information freely without restraint.    Everyone is attached to the internet in some form or fashion either through a smart phone, lap top or desktop computer.  Even televisions are becoming more “connected.”  These three companies track every move we make and store most of this gleaned information in huge databases.  They store our locations, our phone calls, our text messages, our email messages, our internet browsing histories, our instant messages, our pictures and recordings, our vacations, our shopping trends, our business travel and even our documents we create. On top of that, they create Apps which access this information that collect even more detailed information.  (Did you know that Microsoft has One Drive which Windows forces documents to be stored in the Cloud?)  They currently claim to use this information for business purposes such as advertising, but concerns persist.  The real concern is with our information getting into the hands of bad actors.  Evil foreign governments and hackers can probably get into any of the big three databases with a concerted effort.  For example, the DNC servers were hacked during the 2016 elections.  Even Hillary Clinton’s “secure” private server in her basement was hacked by foreign hackers revealing top State secrets.  What’s even more concerning is that they control the information we request to examine on the net.  Facebook is accused of silencing people who differ from their political views and Google gives you the search results which it deems best.  If these companies want the internet to remain free, then they need to insure that the processes remain pure.  Once tainted by human intervention, biases will always occur. Artificial intelligence will no doubt make matters worse. Measures need to be put in place by Congress to force these companies to reveal their data collection methods and install security measures for safety from attack.  Congress then needs to limit the amount of data that they can collect and then limit the unrestrained dissemination of this information.  Will inquires and regulations ever happen?  Probably not.  Every stinking politician receives huge campaign contributions from these companies to stay in office and not make the necessary investigations. Why is Microsoft, Google and Facebook afraid to testify before Congress?  Because they know regulation is inevitable and they are only prolonging the process.  We can take small steps to protect ourselves.  Turn unused Apps off.  Always turn your computer and cell phone to airplane mode when not on the internet.  And call Congress.