Discussion
Construct a response that addresses the following privacy and security questions and concerns.
As the CEOs of companies like Google and Facebook put it, privacy is dead, and thats a good thing. In 2010 Eric Schmidt stated that true anonymity is too dangerous to be allowed to exist; some level of surveillance is necessary to stop the bad guys. The National Security Agency leaks revealed the extent to which these companies have collaborated with the state to provide extensive private data about citizens.
Is anonymity a social problem that needs to be addressed, since it aids the activities of terrorists and cyber-thieves, or does the focus on terrorism seem to be a political tactic to get citizens to support a program that encourages the widespread violation of privacy and civil liberties?
Are companies like Google and Facebook earnest in their belief that the world needs to be less private and more social, or is this discourse merely a tactic to serve their economic interests?
Can you think of any social consequences of living in a world without walls and only windows?
How important is privacy to you?
All of this week’s responses should be posted by 11:59 PM EST of the evening (Friday) preceding the following module.
