Privacy: the most vexing issue of the digital age

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Technology is all fun and games, until your private information is leaked. Even the information we voluntarily put on our social media platforms is at risk of being used elsewhere without our consent, not to mention, but corporations and governments have been also unlawfully violating our privacy on a massive scale.

Image retrieved from Daily Stormer.
Consider the following: tattoos tell a lot of stories, but have you ever thought about your electronic tattoo? Are Facebook, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, cell phones, GPS, Foursquare, Yelp, security camera, or credit scores considered to be electronic tattoos? Yes, yes they most definitely are.

The above platforms more or less provide the same amount of personal information that a literal tattoo provides. Celebrities or other information figureheads have just as much information exposed as compared to an ordinary human being.

Face.com is a Tel Aviv-based technology company that developed a platform for efficient and accurate facial recognition in photos via web and other mobile applications. This technological based company scans billons of photos monthly and tags faces in those photos, tying them directly to available social networking information.

Face.com found 18 billon faces across API services and Facebook applications in 2011. 18 billon faces. Let that sink in. Oh, and to add, Facebook bought that company in 2012, and all of the information Face.com was transferred over to Facebook.

If that isn't concerning enough, let's talk about the imminent debate surrounding one's location information.

Think about the places you drive you car to in the United States. Perhaps you fancy going to Starbucks, the mall or a concert. Now think about other places you travel to that maybe you might want to keep private from the general public. This could pertain to a variety of places such as some sort of medical appointment...or the specific location of your home.

Well, guess what. The government can see that. Yes, even your address. The government can easily attain a private map of how citizens interact and where they travel to. Sounds a little "big brother" is watching over you, doesn't it?

Maybe next time you'll think before you post. If you wouldn't want your mother to see it, don't post.

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