Apple.. we really need to talk about our privacy.
Hi all. Breaking cover after many years to bring to you a very timely and important issue for discussion. As our technology expands and improves at exponential rates and given the current state of the world with government mandates intruding on every aspect of our lives, particularly concerning the issue of personal autonomy; our health, treatments, financial and personal freedoms ... the question of our right to privacy and the freedom to choose what we shall allow corporations and governments to have access to and control over regarding our everyday lives is becoming paramount.
Apple has been, and is, at the forefront of information, collecting vast amounts of data on us, mostly through the use of their devices ... our financial details, our photos, our correspondence, our health, our biometric data, our contacts and our whereabouts at any given moment. I personally, as do many of you reading this, own many Apple devices. MacBook, iPhone, Watch, iPad, AirPods. The list goes on, and every one of these devices is able to monitor us in real time. This all encompassing surveillance system that Apple has access to comes with, not just enormous responsibility but also enormous problems. The ethics of not just the way in which this data is collected and stored, but exactly how it is used, or potentially abused, should concern each and every one of us and this is where Apple needs to be much more proactive and even start to limit the amount of data it collects, how it collects it, how it is stored, exactly what they monitor and what they can potentially exploit.
We all should have the right to protected domains within, not just our everyday lives, but importantly, the protection of all personal data held on our devices and elsewhere. Government surveillance and data hacking also makes real privacy problematic and its impossible to know to what extent technology companies are actually able to protect personal freedoms. The spy in your pocket is exactly that. We can be tracked, seen, heard and monitored through our phones and smart devices 24/7 therefore should we really trust technology companies with all of our data? Did you actually read all of the terms of service before you agreed to them? What do they actually promise as regards privacy, if anything? Apple certainly isn't alone in this issue although it is one of the most outspoken on the matter of personal privacy. Anything that is a potential spy is also a threat to our freedoms and our democracies, regardless of the promises such companies may make. Promises are made to be broken and the old adage continues to ring true ... absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This article makes for good reading: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-surveillance-technology
Discuss.
Apple has been, and is, at the forefront of information, collecting vast amounts of data on us, mostly through the use of their devices ... our financial details, our photos, our correspondence, our health, our biometric data, our contacts and our whereabouts at any given moment. I personally, as do many of you reading this, own many Apple devices. MacBook, iPhone, Watch, iPad, AirPods. The list goes on, and every one of these devices is able to monitor us in real time. This all encompassing surveillance system that Apple has access to comes with, not just enormous responsibility but also enormous problems. The ethics of not just the way in which this data is collected and stored, but exactly how it is used, or potentially abused, should concern each and every one of us and this is where Apple needs to be much more proactive and even start to limit the amount of data it collects, how it collects it, how it is stored, exactly what they monitor and what they can potentially exploit.
We all should have the right to protected domains within, not just our everyday lives, but importantly, the protection of all personal data held on our devices and elsewhere. Government surveillance and data hacking also makes real privacy problematic and its impossible to know to what extent technology companies are actually able to protect personal freedoms. The spy in your pocket is exactly that. We can be tracked, seen, heard and monitored through our phones and smart devices 24/7 therefore should we really trust technology companies with all of our data? Did you actually read all of the terms of service before you agreed to them? What do they actually promise as regards privacy, if anything? Apple certainly isn't alone in this issue although it is one of the most outspoken on the matter of personal privacy. Anything that is a potential spy is also a threat to our freedoms and our democracies, regardless of the promises such companies may make. Promises are made to be broken and the old adage continues to ring true ... absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This article makes for good reading: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/apple-surveillance-technology
Discuss.