The Privacy Psyche: What Will Happen To Us With Less Privacy On The Internet?
The minds at Daplie.com discuss the principles their Personal Cloud is based on.
“Congress sent proposed legislation to President Trump on Tuesday that wipes away landmark online privacy protections, the first salvo in what is likely to become a significant reworking of the rules governing Internet access in an era of Republican dominance.”
Thus reads the first line in Brian Fung’s article in the Washington Post, March 28. Perhaps on cue, the tagline under the masthead reads: “Democracy dies in darkness.”
Principle 1: Freedom. No exploitation, no commercialization without consent.
Behind the closed shades of companies like Google, Verizon, Amazon and many others, what data mining explorations will infringe on our internet privacy? Anyone with a cloud-based product stands to make more money. Those of us who rely on cloud-based products are left to wonder who is staring back at us through every gadget hooked up to the IoT. When I was a teenager, I stopped in a department store to buy socks. A man followed me around the store, glancing sideways at me as I checked tags, looked at sweatshirts, and finally stepped up to the register with my socks in hand. Turned out he was store security. And me, with my long hair, had just been profiled, judged, watched and noted. It was unnerving. As we, members of the digital republic, live out our lives more publicly, what will that mean, exactly?
The Internet was birthed on the platform of absolute freedom. And ever since has been pushed and pulled by the biggest players, shaped to their evolving motives. Developers, marketers, providers, advertisers, the FCC and now Congress; all have had their crack at what Internet ideology should be. And as each major player has exerted influence, the consumer experience has changed. We think it’s time for the consumer to determine the experience. Independence from anyone who would use your data without your content is an infringement on personal freedom. You wouldn’t want someone taking photos of you while you shop, or asking for personal information when you go out to dinner. Yet we accept this as normal on the Net.
Principle 2: Privacy. I’ll choose who sees what.
With billions of dollars at play, and the convenience of modern digital living a necessity, how will the tension between data brokers and private citizens play out?
Are we OK with our digital-self living in a digital-commune? Will Google, Facebook and Verizon be responsible corporate citizens and not exploit us individually, while profiting from our aggregate data? (And will they get better at safeguarding our data?) Marketers have always looked for ways to understand their consumers. The Net has provided a treasure trove of info. The point we are making is that it should be opt in. In a recent study on Internet security by Kaspersky labs (makers of security software), over 70% of adults are concerned about online security, yet most aren’t protected sufficiently. Angst fills the gap. And rightfully so: one-third of computer users have been hacked at some time. How will that be compounded as commercial cloud rainmakers gain more ground, and individuals lose? These are good questions to ask ourselves. Privacy is not all that is at stake. Might be that our well-being is at risk too.
An interesting article appeared in the Globe and Mail three years ago at the height of drone use in Afghanistan. It cites a study on the psychological effects of living under 24 hour surveillance. The study, conducted by researchers at Stanford University and New York University, with help from the Foundation for Fundamental Rights, a Pakistani non-profit, is titled Living Under Drones. The report concludes that the vast majority of people live in fear of a drone strike. They know the drones are there to kill terrorists, but they all have friends who’ve been collateral damage. The result is communities that don’t gather outside as much, live more in isolation, have trouble sleeping at night, and live with daily anticipatory anxiety. It’s far-fetched to imagine our world developing anxiety disorders because we anticipate being hacked, or exploited. That’s way below the anxiety trigger of anticipating death. But we all know somebody whose identity was compromised or stolen. Whose social media account or bank account was hacked. Concern becomes anxiety when you add uncertainty. We want to give control back to individuals to mitigate the concerns.
Principle 3: Shareable: To my friends, to all my devices.
We aren’t advocates for isolation. But if that’s what you want to do with your privacy, then that’s your choice. If you have a ton of friends you share stuff with everyday, from multiple devices, that’s your choice as well. We just think you should have complete control over what you share and who you share it with.
What are the options?
It’s a question of choice. If it were possible, wouldn’t we all require complete transparency before clicking: “this is where your data points will go, how they will be used, their risk score for being hacked. Click if you’re OK with that.” Until we all reach altruistic nirvana, that kind of integrity just isn’t going to exist, on the Net or in the world we live in.
So here are the choices if you want to feel more secure, and that secure your data.
1. Personal Cloud: a ubiquitous term cooked up by marketers to make us feel like our data is safe. But in reality, your data is part of a community cloud, albeit encrypted. Most of these kind of clouds are storage devices that store your data, encrypt it, and send it to the community cloud. Big clouds have been hacked and personal cloud storage is still susceptible since they ride on big clouds. But this is better than nothing. Good passwords also help. But the more you share, the more at risk you are.
2. Daplie Personal Cloud System (with a capital C): This is a closed loop system accessed through a domain name and password with storage and apps to help you manage your data. More than a combination safe, The Daplie solution lets you manage who has access to your data, shields from anyone who doesn’t and utilizes pathways to clouds like Google and Facebook that are less likely to be hacked. When your packet of data arrives at Google, it contains guards against data-mining, hacking, and stalking. Since your data is in packets stored on your Daplie hard drive at home, it doesn’t go out. Only the link does. So all those eyes on data streams only see the link, not your actual data. That means you share with those you want, and block everyone else automatically.
Principle 4: Ownership. I own my most life-defining moments and my most mundane info. Period. It’s my life. I’ll drive.
You paid for the music and the books and the movies. You took the photos you wrote the poetry and the witty remarks. Why would you rent the right to access them? We believe you should own them (of course current copyright laws apply). And you should own every aspect of your personal cloud. So with us, you buy the product for a one-time fee and you own it, lock stock and barrel. Daplie doesn’t own anything of yours, nothing. We can’t see it. We can’t even access it if the FBI ordered us to. And you are free to share it with whomever you want. No hidden data vampires. It’s yours, you control it. Hook up all your devices to it, even your home security and you are truly private and secure.
Principle 5: Usability and unlimited space.
No security system works if the user won’t use it. So we made it plug and play. We created a user interface that is easy and intuitive. And we made it expandable. Add more storage, more apps, even modules like home security and car security (currently in development).
OK, so we can’t hear the sound of surveillance in the hum of overhead drones. But that doesn’t mean our fundamental right to privacy and control can’t still be a no-brainer. If somebody wants to take photos of us while we eat dinner and track our shopping habits, they should have to ask our permission. Freedom is what the Net was founded on. Now more than ever, control over your digital-self should be up to you.
2. https://press.kaspersky.com/files/2016/11/B2C_survey_2016_report_.pdf
