Blog 7 Digital Privacy

 

• How do these issues affect you? You friends and family?

The lack of privacy in the online world has become more and more apparent over time. Targeted ads, data mining, lack of rules, and shady terms of service are just some of the issues that have arisen for consumers. Both companies and individuals can access your private information. This information can range from pictures posted on your social media page to know where you live and go to. Another group that has access to this information is the government. All of these groups can use this information to send you targeted ads, stalk you, or perpetrate other nefarious activities against you. The government especially can do some shady stuff with your information. Recently police cars have begun to be outfitted with license plate cameras. This is meant to be used to keep an eye out for cars involved with criminal activities. But this same technology has been used to create a watchlist of license plates. The NYPD created one such watchlist for Mosque goers. The thought that the government is watching you for your religious beliefs is heinous. Another heinous thought is that companies can use the data they have on you, and sell it to others or even government bodies. Anything you or your friends post or agree to has hidden consequences that can affect your life in a big way.

• What should the government be doing about these issues?

I think one of the first things the government should do to combat this lack of privacy is to force companies to make a more layman's version of their terms of service. I am not entirely sure how they could achieve it, maybe make it at an eighth grade reading level. The next thing they should do is make it harder for themselves to have access to online data. This especially includes the tracking of phone calls and license plates. One of the last things they should figure out is how to handle cases of/similar to revenge porn. No one government should police the internet, but there has to be a small amount of moderation on it.

• What can we do to protect ourselves from invasions of our privacy?

I think there are three ways you can protect your own privacy. The most difficult of these would probably be reading the TOS (terms of service) for all the apps and media platforms you are a part of. Unfortunately, at the moment, you need to be able to understand all the legal and technical jargon stuffed in the TOS. A more approachable method is to simply limit how much you post on social media platforms, and watch for cookies on the websites you go to. The last piece of advice I can offer is to get a reliable VPN. They can encrypt your data and make it harder for any type of cyber threat to get your data.

Blog 2 Supreme Court Videos

• What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

Something new I learned about the Supreme Court was how long it takes them to decide which cases they will take. They take weeks to release their "opinions" on the cases they are given. After that, they will hand out copies to the reporters who will write articles in a matter of minutes or hours. The "opinions" they have been given are also incredibly long. They range from around ten pages to as many as eighty. The Justices really take their time and are thorough in their rulings, because they have to be. They represent the highest level of justice available in our country, so they can't do anything haphazardly.

• What is the most important takeaway point about the Supreme Court?

  I think my biggest takeaway, is how meticulous the Supreme Court is as a system. The Court has a thorough chain of communication to it. It has a number of court clerks who help read over the case files, do research for the "opinions", and generally make it possible for the Justices to carry out their duties. Without these clerks, the Justices would be swamped with thousands of case files that they'd have to comb through. Instead, they only have to go through about a hundred a week because the clerks do a preliminary elimination of the cases they receive.

• What was the most surprising thing you learned?

The most surprising thing that I learned about was that Justices aren't allowed to bring forward cases. It made sense when I learned about it, but I thought that was something they could do. The video puts it best by saying that they have to address what the country brought to them. 

• How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

This video managed to humanize the Supreme Court affecting how I view them. I have only had a surface level of knowledge about this branch of the government. Being able to hear about the process of this branch and the thought processes of the Justices really grounded my views about them.

 Post 1: Five Sources of News

1. TikTok is primarily where I learn about what's going on in the world. The platform allows people with all different kinds of views to speak their minds. It also allows other creators to "stitch" other people's videos so that they can show the original video on their own. They will typically show the "stitched" video, then cut to themselves with a response. The comment section allows further discussion on the topics being discussed as well. Another advantage of the platform is that it allows news of any kind onto the platform ranging from celebrity news to global events. 

https://www.tiktok.com/explore

2. YouTube is another source of where I can hear about what's going on. I typically stick to news related to gaming, other content creators, and updates about the platform itself. Like TikTok, YouTube allows a variety of ways to interact with one another. Videos can address one another, the comment section can hold debates there, and with the recent addition of "YouTube Live", creators can have live broadcasts discussing current events. News outlets also have a presence on YouTube, so it allows you to stay with the sources you're familiar with, or explore new ones.

https://www.youtube.com/feed/subscriptions

3. Another source of information for me is my family. The news we typically talk about is directly tied to our lives; work, school, family, etc. With such a close tie to our lives, I do take this news pretty seriously. It allows me to know what my family's schedule is like and to help understand how they are feeling too. The process for getting this news is pretty casual, which only encourages me to do it pretty often.

4. My friends are also an outlet for news to me. They keep me up to date about what's going on in their lives, any environments we share together, and other areas of interest we both have. Similarly with my family, with this information, I can know how they are doing and what they might be doing too. 

5. Twitch is an exclusively live broadcasting platform. On an odd occasion, I'll use it. I typically use it to stay updated on what is going on with recent video game releases and the current state of others. There are a wide variety of "streamers" to watch and listen to. Each live stream also has an active comment section constantly being updated as people leave their comments.