Privacy

Much has been written lately about Julian Assange, Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden.  Are they guardians of freedom, rebels shedding light on the misdeeds of the war machine, bearers of truth?  Or are they traitors, trying to score cheap points on the pretense of achieving a greater good? 

My pet peeve, for many years has been the corporate spying into the private lives of citizens.  A few weeks after I bought my brand new, 1974 Plymouth Duster, I received an offer, and catalog, from Fingerhut, for custom, plastic covers for my 1974 Plymouth Duster.  How did they know about my purchase?  I didn’t buy the plastic covers, but the catalogs kept coming, month after month, and I continued to throw them away without perusing through them.  I hate mail order catalogs. 

Fingerhut spent a lot of money chasing my business.  They could afford to waste money on me because there were ample customers to finance their loss on me while turning a hefty profit.  They continue doing business with their “buy now, pay later” approach to business.  How did they know about my purchase and how did they get my mailing address?

We all know the answer to that question.  Business sells customer information to business.  I recently purchased a new home.  Within days I was getting phone calls from Amerigroup Mortgage Corporation, at home where, I had a new phone number. They wanted to refinance my mortgage loan.  How did they know about my new mortgage loan and how did they get my new phone number?  They bought my personal information from other companies.

Every time I go online, companies are tracking my movement on the Internet.  Websites will place their insidious cookies on my computer, without my permission.  What gives them the right to do so?  I am a Facebook user.  I enter limited information on my profile, one of those tidbits is my college degree.  Coincidentally, ads appear on my Facebook page for schools that offer my degree.  How do those advertisers know to target me for their products?  I avoid Facebook applications because of the disclaimer that Facebook will share my profile information with the application.  Candy crush will use my profile information, not to play their game but to sell me other goods and services that candy crush users are known to prefer.

There is outrage in this country about the revelations by Snowden that the government has been spying on American citizens by collecting Internet and telephone usage data, presumably under the guise of national security.  I have not seen a commensurate outrage over the spying of American citizens by businesses who sell our personal and financial information for the sole purpose of separating us from our hard earned, accumulated wealth.  Why?

There are proposals before Congress to limit government’s data collecting protocols.  There are NO serious proposals before Congress to limit businesses use of private and presumably confidential information of its customers.  Why? 

I believe that Assange, Snowden and Manning are traitors engaged in a dangerous game of “truth telling” and that their motives are insincere.  Manning took an oath to defend the constitution of the United States against enemies, foreign and domestic.”  He violated that oath and in doing so, he became a domestic enemy.  Snowden worked for the CIA, he had a security clearance and he violated that trust.  Assange is a hacker who publishes official documents for personal gain. 

I also believe that the practice of business spying on American citizens is traitorous.  How often have you seen confidential disclosure statements?  They are meant to protect the company, not the customer.  They will sell out the customer for money and they will buy customer data to target their sales strategies to most likely buyers.  There is no shame in this widely known and accepted business practice, and there is no public outrage either.  Corporate spying on other corporations is illegal, kind like honor amongst thieves, but corporate spying on me is “good business.” 

Think about this the next time you use your credit card at the supermarket.  Corporate America will know if you buy alcohol or cigarettes or advil or motor oil or jelly donuts.  Life insurance companies will base your premiums, in part, on what you consume.  They know who you are because you used your credit card.  You will suddenly receive junk mail from pet stores because you purchased pet food.  Yes, big brother is watching us. 

Personally, I prefer to trust my government’s practice of collecting my Internet or telephone data.  What will they learn?  Who my friends are?  If I visit porn sites?  My travel plans?  I don’t care if they know that.  However, I don’t want my banking institution selling my personal and financial information to anyone else, and I don’t want cookies on my computer.  I can rationalize government’s peeking into my smart phone as being for the greater good to safeguard OUR freedoms.  However, I should qualify that it is an outrageous waste of public resources to throw out a hugely expensive dragnet that should be more precisely cast on likely threats.  I cannot rationalize corporate spying and intrusion for the sole purpose of separating me from my money.  This spying, by the way, is condoned by the very same government that just convicted Manning for espionage. 

Define irony!