My paranoia may not be your paranoia, but I wanted to
share. We, the privileged group of
(largely) affluent society, which is to say, middle, upper-middle and upper-class
Americans, are sharing way too much about ourselves both on the internet and
off. And, we’re being preyed upon and
exploited without (sometimes) even knowing it.
So, it behooves us to be mindful of what we share and with whom.
For one, your pictures. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. have you sign user agreements when you first sign up. Embedded in there are promises about privacy and not sharing your personal information…but it also lays claims to any content you post. This includes stuff they can use to sell to advertising companies like sites you frequent, subject of links you re-post, and general demographic information. But, they also have free access to your personal photos that you put up there. That’s right, if you post it, they can use it for marketing or pretty much whatever they’d like. AND, what most people don’t realize is that, when you take a picture with your cell phone, you’re not just sending a picture, but you’re also sending geographic information: i.e. where you took that picture. Now, FaceBook probably doesn’t give a crap where you are in the world (aside from stealing the associated demographic information and selling that), but anybody who can see that picture can lift it and, potentially, see the metadata/geographic information, to find out just where you were when you took it. Yes, there are ways to limit your audience on the social media sites, but there are also way too many ways where those protections don’t work and your information is lifted by someone else for their own purposes:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/richard-prince-instagram_n_7452634.html
For one, your pictures. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. have you sign user agreements when you first sign up. Embedded in there are promises about privacy and not sharing your personal information…but it also lays claims to any content you post. This includes stuff they can use to sell to advertising companies like sites you frequent, subject of links you re-post, and general demographic information. But, they also have free access to your personal photos that you put up there. That’s right, if you post it, they can use it for marketing or pretty much whatever they’d like. AND, what most people don’t realize is that, when you take a picture with your cell phone, you’re not just sending a picture, but you’re also sending geographic information: i.e. where you took that picture. Now, FaceBook probably doesn’t give a crap where you are in the world (aside from stealing the associated demographic information and selling that), but anybody who can see that picture can lift it and, potentially, see the metadata/geographic information, to find out just where you were when you took it. Yes, there are ways to limit your audience on the social media sites, but there are also way too many ways where those protections don’t work and your information is lifted by someone else for their own purposes:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/richard-prince-instagram_n_7452634.html
Please don’t be the one to change
your FaceBook status to say something like:
“In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, crafts, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times! (Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws.) By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook's direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute). Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates...”
“In response to the new Facebook guidelines I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, comics, paintings, crafts, professional photos and videos, etc. (as a result of the Berner Convention). For commercial use of the above my written consent is needed at all times! (Anyone reading this can copy this text and paste it on their Facebook Wall. This will place them under protection of copyright laws.) By the present communiqué, I notify Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute, disseminate, or take any other action against me on the basis of this profile and/or its contents. The aforementioned prohibited actions also apply to employees, students, agents and/or any staff under Facebook's direction or control. The content of this profile is private and confidential information. The violation of my privacy is punished by law (UCC 1 1-308-308 1-103 and the Rome Statute). Facebook is now an open capital entity. All members are recommended to publish a notice like this, or if you prefer, you may copy and paste this version. If you do not publish a statement at least once, you will be tacitly allowing the use of elements such as your photos as well as the information contained in your profile status updates...”
Don’t believe me? Then read this.
OK, so that’s online.
What about off-line? Let me say
something about this stick-figure fad on the back of people’s car. You’re basically driving around with an
advertisement about whether you’re married, how many kids you have and whether
you have any pets…all on a status symbol that broadcasts how much you’re
willing to spend on a vehicle. Right,
you’ve just proven that you’re affluent and have little ones at home. A creative creep can easily follow you home,
scope your house, and make a judgment about grabbing a kid or if you’re home or
not so they can loot it. Plus, they
already know if there are any obstacles like pets. OK, no stick figures? What about the “My kid is an honor-roll
student at ____.” Now you’ve given the
age of the kids as well.
I wrote a little about cyber-security and passwords a coupleof months ago, now it’s time to think about strengthening your real life
security as well. If you’re paranoid,
like me, you should treat social media more like interacting with
strangers. Be sparse with very personal
posts and photos, because you’d never walk up to a stranger and volunteer that
information unsolicited. Be knowledgeable
about your digital rights and what you agreed to when you signed up for
something. And, be mindful that everyone
out there is generally nice, but it only takes one creeper to ruin it for all
of us.
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