A Look Inside The Circle’s Privacy Debacle
The Circle by Dave Eggers highlights many aspects of a technologically advanced world. Becoming more technologically advanced may interfere with privacy and security. In The Circle, Eggers introduces us to a world where privacy is obsolete. All employees of the Circle are expected to share everything about their lives with everyone. Nothing is to be kept a secret at the Circle. The Circle is so focused on “letting everything be known” that they strongly encourage everyone to abide by these three motto's:
SECRETS ARE LIES
SHARING IS CARING
PRIVACY IS THEFT
In a world so technologically advanced privacy and security become main concerns. It’s important that the information people don’t want to share with the world, is kept private. Not everyone is comfortable with sharing their personal information such as their cell phone number and address with the world. There are certain things that shouldn’t be shared with the entire world for security reasons.
Social media websites , like Facebook, are known for testing the boundaries of privacy. Facebook has announced the Open Graph Protocol which makes it easier for outside sites to share information with Facebook when visitors recommend a page. This could become a major breech in security for visitors to these websites. Not everyone wishes to be tracked nor is aware they’re being tracked online. Some people have claimed that Facebook is an evil corporation and has no respect for people’s privacy. Claims have also been made that Facebook’s Terms of Service are completely one-sided. It has been noted that Facebook’s CEO has a documented history of unethical behavior. It seems as though Facebook is trying to reform the definition of privacy to meet its needs instead of meeting its user’s needs.
In The Circle, Mae is expected to always be active on her social media profile (Zing account) which is essentially like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram all wrapped into one account. She is expected to share every aspect of her life with the whole world daily. Many of us are like Mae and update our social media profiles daily. Many of us fail to realize that each time we log onto our social media profiles; we lose some sense of autonomy. Teenagers and children are especially unaware of this dangerous aspect of social media. Instead of playing outside, children now play on their tablets and phones to pass the time. Protecting children’s identity is important so that online predators don’t have access to the child’s location and other confidential information. Children are surrounded by technology and it’s hard for parents to watch their child’s every move while they’re on the internet. It’s important for parents to set technological boundaries with their children so their children don’t become victims of privacy invasion.
The USA Patriot Act is a U.S. law that was created in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. The Patriot Act gives government officials a greater ability to tap telephone lines and track internet users. The Patriot Act was mainly created to help keep American citizens safe and to help prevent further terrorist attacks. Although most government officials use The Patriot Act for its intended purpose, some abuse this act. Government officials who use the act for malicious intent could have access to people’s confidential information. The attributes of The Patriot Act are mostly used when conducting criminal investigations. This is understandable because it helps keep high-profile criminals off the streets and gives our nation a better sense of security. The Patriot Act is a great law to have in place only when it’s used for the good of the people. This act has changed the way we view privacy and security. For instance, do you feel comfortable with government officials being able to tap into your telephone line or track your internet usage at any given time especially without you knowing?
Advancements in technology including new smartphones, tablets and portable computers have influenced our society greatly within the past decade. The Apple iPhone made its first debut in January of 2007 and was a game changer for the tech world. Of course other smartphones like Samsung and LG have also dominated the tech world but the iPhone is definitely the “poster child” of the smartphone generation . Since the introduction of these new gadgets, privacy and security have been put on the back burner. Most smartphones now include GPS technology which can track your whereabouts at any given moment. This is a great feature when using Google Maps but when you’re just scrolling through your social media feeds is GPS technology really necessary? Some people claim that GPS technology is an infringement on their privacy and sense of security. Most smartphones give you the option to disable location services but many applications won’t work properly if you have this disabled. Once you disable your location services you may get annoying reminders on your phone to go back and enable this feature in settings for optimal performance of the device. This feature may enable some users to keep location services on so they don’t get those pesky reminders. Social media websites, such as Facebook, track your location as well. You can choose to include your location when updating your status or uploading a picture. For rookie internet users who don’t understand these aspects of social media, this feature could compromise their privacy and sense of security. In The Circle, each employee’s location is able to be tracked by other members of the Circle. This is similar to the GPS technology embedded in smartphones except in the Circle you aren’t able to turn your location services off. It’s frowned upon and violates many rules of the Circle.
GPS technology is also used when taking pictures and is referred to as geotagging. Geotagging uses GPS technology to find the longitude and latitude of where the picture was taken. Once the picture is taken, location data is then embedded in that photo. Geotagging is very prevalent among social media websites such as Facebook and Instagram. Usually when you upload a picture to Facebook it will automatically insert the place where the picture was taken. This is a privacy concern because not everyone wants to share their exact location with the world. Some information is to be kept private. It’s understandable if you want to share the location of some pictures taken on vacation but sharing the location of a picture taken at your home can be dangerous. Geotagging isn’t very useful for social media purposes but for criminal investigations it’s vital. When investigating a crime, law enforcement officials are able track the location of photographs that might be on the suspect’s phone or social media pages prior to the crime. Geotagging could be very helpful in kidnappings and finding runaway murder suspects. Geotagging could also give law enforcement clues as to who the suspect associates with while looking at the location of their pictures on their social media pages. Geotagging could lead to new advancements in criminal cases but could be potentially dangerous when for social media purposes.
Face recognition technology is another technological advancement that has become prominent over the past decade. Face recognition cameras are typically used by law enforcement to detect fugitives and runaways. Tampa, Florida became the first city to install these high-tech face recognition cameras in hopes of ridding the Ybor area of criminals. Each camera scans bystanders faces and electronically compares them to thirty thousand mugshots of criminals. Once these thirty-six cameras were installed many people became outraged and claimed this was a huge privacy infringement. Dick Armey, the House Majority Leader, stated:
“Do we really want a society where one cannot walk down the street without Big Brother tracking our every move?”
People with reservations about the face recognition cameras have good reason. Having these cameras in place provides a sense of worry that either your picture is going to be taken or your face is going to be scanned at any given moment. Simple tasks like running to the store to get milk become so complicated with these cameras in place. In The Circle, SeeChange cameras are placed everywhere. The Circle sends its employees all over the world to place these cameras which monitors the activities and location of bystanders. The SeeChange cameras were placed to reduce crime and observe people in their normal habitat. SeeChange cameras are placed precisely and disguised very well so bystanders don’t recognize them. SeeChange cameras compare a lot with face recognition cameras because they both secretly observe people without their knowledge.
Others claim that face recognition cameras are a great idea and should be installed in major cities to reduce crime and keep citizens safe. President of Visionics, Joseph Atick, defends the technology and describes the technology as:
“no different than having a police officer sift through a book of mug shots”
Face recognition cameras which electronically detect faces and match them with thirty-thousand people in a database doesn’t even compare to sifting through a book of mug shots. When sifting through a book of mug shots, you aren’t also sifting through pictures of thousands of innocent bystanders just walking the streets. Face recognition cameras are a great tool for law enforcement but aren’t necessary to be placed everywhere.
In The Circle, Mae is given a high-tech medical bracelet which tracks pretty much everything there is to know about the person wearing it. This medical bracelet tracks steps, monitors heart rate, pH balance, blood pressure and measures statistics about other body fluids as well. All of this confidential information is stored in an online database and is retrievable at any given moment. This bracelet is also synced with Mae’s online Zing account which shares information about her health with others. The medical bracelets shown in The Circle compare greatly to medical patient portals which we use today. Online patient portals allow patients to look at their test results, make future appointments with their doctor and also pay for procedures and doctors’ visits. Online patient portals are a great way to quickly look at your medical information without having to call the doctor’s office every time you get a scan or blood work done. These portals are very convenient and save a lot of hassle between the doctor and their patients. Even though these portals are great, they do come with many privacy concerns. Online patient portals store all patient’s information in an online database just like the medical bracelets in The Circle. Almost anyone can access information stored in an online database. There’s always the risk that hackers could potentially hack into medical online databases and collect confidential medical information about anyone. This is a major drawback of online patient portals because most people wouldn’t be comfortable with strangers knowing their entire medical history. This concern is logical because medical information is extremely detailed and confidential. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) was put in place strictly to protect patients and to keep their medical information private. Even though medical bracelets and online patient portals are convenient, they don’t guarantee that the patient’s medical information is going to be kept confidential.
With The Circle being based in such a technologically advanced world, it poses many privacy concerns. SeeChange cameras are placed everywhere and almost everyone has gone “transparent” while wearing a camera around their neck which captures virtually everything. Living in a world that’s too technologically advanced can become frightening. No one is able to keep their personal information private and everyone is forced to become so dependent on technology. People aren’t able to have normal conversations with one another without a camera recording their every word. With the increase in technology there is also an increase in worry for some individuals who don’t want their personal information shared with strangers. Every time you walk down the street you worry if there’s a hidden camera capturing your every move. Technology is a great tool when used in moderation but becoming so dependent on technology could lead to the demise of the entire world if we aren’t careful.
