Your Laptop, $1200 — Your Data, Priceless

Currency, money, the accumulation of wealth… these are the things that run the world. As it turns out, these same things run the internet as well. In July of last year, Agne Pix, a freelance journalist and photographer, interviewed Bruce Schneier. Schneier is a special advisor to IBM Security and the Chief Technology Officer at IBM Resilient, as well as an author and internationally recognized security technologist. In the interview they discussed privacy on the internet, the relationship between surveillance and profit, and how internet users can protect and reclaim their privacy. Schneier says that, “Surveillance is the business model of the internet.” Although there is a concern with our personal data on the internet in regards to the government as well as corporations, in this paper, I will focus on the dangerous implications corporate internet surveillance have on our privacy.

Since it’s conception, the internet has transformed and evolved. Pix talks about the beginning of the internet, describing its founding principles to be rooted in global connection and the free exchange of information. That idea is still very much rooted in the foundation of the internet today. That being said, the internet, once a place to exchange information freely is now a for-profit entity. Schneier tells Pix, “The internet turned from non-commercial to commercial, as companies did not see any way of making money other than advertising…” But that makes sense. The internet has to make money somehow. Advertising is the most logical way for the internet to gain revenue; this just means that you’ll have to navigate around some ads here and there, no big deal. Schneier, however, does think this is a big deal. One that can put your privacy at risk.

While we may think that social media platforms and other internet corporations look to operate with the interests of their users in mind, we are wrong. In order to create more effective ads and in turn make more money, companies need to collect data about users to tailor advertisements. The term surveillance capitalism can be used to describe this reality. Specifically, surveillance capitalism refers to the monetization of data acquired through surveillance. Many tech firms, companies, and platforms claim to put emphasis on creating a better user experience; however, it is interesting to discover that the user is rarely the focus. The focus is the money and in order to make more money, companies must have better ads — ads that their targets are more likely to acknowledge and interact with. Steve Hilton of Fox News puts it nicely, “Because the business model of many of these tech firms relies on selling ads, their relentless focus is on gathering data on their users — that would be you — to enable advertisers to better target their messages.” Pix asks Schneier to describe the association between privacy and social platforms on the internet. He explains that when a social platform is run by a for-profit corporation, problems arise. Here Schneider talks about the social media platform Facebook, “It’s not operating in the interest of its users, but in the interest of their customers — the advertisers,” he says. Really, it is operating in the interest of making money. That just also happens to mean that at one point or another, your privacy may be violated.

For 50 million Facebook users, that “one point or another” came towards the end of 2016. In March of 2018, news sources reported that Facebook exposed the data of 50 million Facebook users to a third party app created by a consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica. The app collected the data of those who used the app as well as data from Facebook friends of the app users. The data was then sold. Sandy Parakilas, a former Facebook employee who worked to ensure user privacy explained to the New York Times that, “The people whose job is to protect the user always are fighting an uphill battle against the people whose job is to make money for the company.” It is becoming clear why Schneier suggests that, “Surveillance is the business model of the internet.” At first glance, it seems that profit is the business model of the internet. I think that observation is correct. What Schneier is making clear, however, is that profit has become analogous with surveillance. When a platform collects our data and either sells it, or exposes it to create better tailored, more effective ads, we are being surveilled. Our privacy is being violated. Schneier explains, “They’re [Facebook] making money in a regulatory world where they are allowed to exploit all of their users, spy on them, run social experiments and manipulate them for profit.” This makes me question which other platforms are putting my data at risk in the name of making a profit. It is certain that Facebook is not the only company taking advantage of their users. As companies try to maximize their profit, our privacy is diminished. There is a lot going on behind our screens — your data is not as safe as these platforms would have you to believe.

Luckily, Schneier provides us with a couple ways to combat the undermining of our privacy. First, there is encryption. Encryption is basically the process of converting your readable data to code. Some companies such as Apple automatically encrypt data on their devices in order to ensure user privacy. There are also programs on the market consumers can download or purchase to encrypt their data. Schneier puts the concept of encryption into layman’s terms by comparing it to a lock on your front door. He explains that you may not know the “intricacies of the mechanism” that is a lock but that it does not matter. What does matter is that you have a lock to protect your house and the people and/or things inside it. The same thought process should be applied to encryption. Just like a lock is a tool, so is encryption. Schneier says that it is not important for you to know how it works, but that it is essential to keeping your information secure and private. Next, Schneier says that if we don’t like the way things are heading, it is up to us to create change through legislation. “If we don’t like that [companies violating our privacy and security], we change the laws. Laws determine what is possible… Laws are not eternal; they are decided by humans for humans.” In the wake of the Facebook scandal, people are beginning to become aware of the issue of privacy in our digital age. It is time to call for regulations and enact legislation to ensure our security. Even today in our ever connected world and proclaimed “Golden Age of Surveillance,” as Schneier calls it, it is possible keep our information somewhat safe.

The advancement of technology and the internet have contributed to many successes. We as a global society are connected more than ever before. We are able to converse, shop, entertain and so much more because of technology and the internet. Unfortunately, it has also left society vulnerable in some areas. Bruce Schneier, internationally recognized security technologist and special advisor to IBM Security offers an insider’s perspective to our data and what companies on the internet are doing with it; proving to us that our data is not as safe as it seems. The internet has become a storage bank that holds all our information as well as a marketplace for business of all forms. This means that as consumers, we are often exploited for our data. Luckily Schneier also provided us with some solutions to the problem. We need to be aware and we need to take action. If the government is not doing anything about this privacy crisis, we can change that. We have the power to change legislation and change how our personal data is regulated. As companies continue to dominate the internet it is crucial that we do our part to uphold our freedoms, liberties, and autonomy.