Privacy in Public in Europe?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. This MediaNote was originally presented to MC101 classes in Summer 2018.

In general, Europeans protect their personal privacy a bit more than Americans do. The latest example of this is a European Union law that gives people the right to not have their image posted online if they don't want it posted. This means, for example, that if your sister takes a picture of you in front of the former Berlin Wall and posts it on Facebook, a local person identifiable in the background of the photo can demand that it be removed. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What do you think of this law?

•Should photos have free speech protection? Why or why not?

•Could this law have an impact on photojournalism?

•In the US, people who get photographed in public cannot claim a right to privacy. Journalists are free to photograph things that are newsworthy. People whose likeness is used for profit--your face is on a can of soup, for example--can sue if they have not agreed to have their likeness used. What do you think of this?

•In the example above, how can you deal with the EU citizen who doesn't want to be in your tourist photo?

Your Cellphone: Not a Stoolie

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 classes in June 2018.

A "Stoolie" (AKA "Stool Pigeon") is archaic American slang for a police informant. In the 1940's movie version, the cops arrest a petty thief and threaten to charge him with something serious unless he tells all he knows about the murder that police are trying to solve. The petty thief cooperates. That's a stoolie.

According to a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision last week, your cellphone (under most circumstances) will not act as a stoolie. Police will have to obtain a search warrant from a judge before they can search a cellphone. NPR reports.

Questions...

•How much does your cellphone know about you? What does it know about you?

•What do you think about this ruling? Why?

•Police do not need a search warrant to search your car or a homeless person's tent. They DO need a search warrant to search your home or your cellphone? What's the difference?

•Could someone explain the differences between Libertarians (usually conservative) and traditional conservatives? How does that apply to this ruling?

When Can Police Search Cell Phones?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented in May 2014. After we discuss the MediaNote, Your Humble Blogger will tell you how the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in this case.

You are stopped for a minor traffic violation. Police find guns in your car. Concerned that you might be a dangerous criminal, police seize your cellphone. They search for photos, emails, text messages, phone numbers and anything else indicating criminality. Is this good, attentive police work or is it unreasonable search and seizure? The Supreme Court of the United States will soon decide if a cellphone search is more like a search of a suspected criminal's automobile (which does not need a search warrant) or more like a search of a suspected criminal's home (which DOES need a search warrant). NPR reports.

Questions...

•What types of information do you leave on your cellphone?

•In terms of providing information about you, is a cellphone more like a wallet, or more like a person's home? Why?

•Do you think the police acted responsibly in the San Diego case? Why or why not?

•If police are able to search cellphones of suspected criminals without a warrant, how will it affect us as individuals and as a larger society?

Emergency MediaNote!

This MediaNote was presented to the MW class only.br>
Today at 11:18 am a new text-based emergency warning system will be activated. It supplements the emergency broadcast system that we have seen tested on television down through the years. But in these highly polarized times, there is concern from some that this national system could be misused. NPR reports.

Questions...

•For what sort of situations would the federal government need to send an emergency text message to everyone's phone?

•How might these emergency messages be particularly important to Californians?

•Should citizens have the right to opt out of receiving these messages? Why or why not?

•Are you concerned that President Trump or future presidents will misuse this system? What kind of misuse could you imagine?

NOTE: Glendale College has a text-based warning system called Nixle. If you want to sign up for Nixle (or simply know more about it), follow this link for details.

Eurofornia

Californians are perhaps a little more willing to accept European-style government regulations than, say, Texans. Furthermore, California is too big a market for companies to ignore, even if it isn't always the easiest place to do business. So it probably makes sense that California is at the forefront of Internet privacy laws. NPR reports.

Questions...

•If things go as planned, in 2020 we will know what companies know about us. Will this be an important right or a trivial one? Why?

•Why might this new law have an impact on your next refrigerator or home security system?

•Should we as Californians care that this law might add difficulty and expense for some Internet companies? Why might this be more of a concern in Northern California?

•Why do you think the big tech companies didn't just give big money to defeat the ballot measure?

•If you were CEO of a tech company that deals in consumer information, how would you want the new law to be crafted?

Beware of Online Surveys

It's fun to take an online survey telling you what city you belong in or what Disney Princess you are most like. But before you answer the questions, think about this: Why would someone write the survey? Why would someone write the program to analyze the surveys? And what happens to the answers to your survey once you've found out that you're a dead-ringer for Princess Jasmine and you would be happiest in Boston.

The controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica, Facebook and the Trump Campaign has given us a peek at how personal information is obtained, analyzed and sold. NBC reports.

Questions...

•What is your attitude about taking online surveys? Do you worry about them? Why or why not?

•Has the Cambridge Analytica controversy changed your willingness to take online surveys? Why or why not?

•What information should companies be allowed to collect about you? What should they not be able to collect?

Forget Big Brother, What About Alexa?

Smart deices are nice to have. You ask Siri or Alexa or Echo something and you get a quick and usually helpful voice response. But can your smart devices keep a secret? Or do they blab out your most personal details to marketers and others? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Do you ever worry that your smart device is listening? Is there anything that you would not say in front of your smart device?

•Has your smart device ever acted in an unexpected way? Tell me your stories.

•Is it OK with you if your queries are turned into data for marketers? Ot should that be regulated?

•Is it OK if your queries are turned over to police so they can deploy their forces more efficiently? (A neighborhood where a lot more people are talking about walking, for example, could be used as evidence for more traffic cops)

Going Out? Don't Forget Your Mask

Social Media companies--Facebook especially--love the advertising possibilities behind facial recognition technology. So if your photo is posted somewhere in social media, it's a good bet that it has been scanned. So when you are out in public, complete strangers with the right equipment may know who you are.

Is this the beginning of a new era in marketing, or the beginning of a totalitarian society? You decide.

Questions...

*Should the right to privacy include the right to not have your face scanned without your consent?

*What are some examples of how facial recognition will be used by advertisers? Do you find this type of advertising unfairly manipulative?

*How might facial recognition make us safer from crime? How might it lead to a totalitarian society?

*What do you hope happens in the Illinois case?

A Parent in Your Pocket or Purse

One feature of having a cell phone is that you can always be reached by Mom or Dad. Now there are apps that help parents keep track of what is on their kids' cell phones. Is this good parenting, or overkill? NPR reports.

Questions...

•Are these apps appropriate, or creepy?

•How much privacy should a 10-year-old have? How about a 15-year-old.

•Has today's communications technology made young people more independent, or less independent?

Mapping a Path to the Future

Maps used to be free, on paper, and given away at gas stations. They showed you where roads went.

But that is an antiquated and narrow perception of what maps do. That is becoming more and more apparent in the Internet Age.

Google has become dominant in the world of online maps. But there are independent competitors. NPR reports.

Questions...

•What do we use maps for?

•What can digital maps do that paper maps can't?

•Can maps invade our privacy? How?

•Is there power in being the main supplier of online maps? What power?

•Where is the profit in online maps?

Googleopoly

Monopolies are not always a scary thing. If Shoelace Tips Inc. monopolizes production of the little hard tips on shoelaces, we can always switch to different types of laces or buy shoes without laces if we so choose.

But what about Google? Is it nearing Monopoly status? Does it matter if we see the world through Google eyes? Some European regulators think so. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Does Google shape how we think about the world? How?

•Is it a good thing or a bad thing if Google is a near monopoly?

•What do you think about the European "right to be forgotten"?

•Does the Internet tend to create monopolies, or is it more anti-monopoly?

Sifting Through Tragedy

The violent rampage of 22-year-old UC Santa Barbara student Elliot Rodger is national news. Why did he kill six and wound 13 people? His emailed "manifesto" and disturbing YouTube videos offer clues. Why does he have a fan page on Facebook? Is the intense media coverage of the killings and the grieving that has followed little more than exploitation of a tragic situation? The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•Does the Internet make lonely and isolated people more lonely and isolated?

•Does the Internet make people more extreme in their views?

•Should police call people in for questioning or search their homes based on violent online rants? Should school administrators or employers take action based upon violent online rants?

•Is the news media serving a vital function of democracy by starting a conversation about what we should do about people like Elliot Rodger? Or are they simply exploiting tragedy and grieving for profit?

Capture Every Moment

We remember life's highlights. And we remember its lowlights. But what about those quiet, uneventful, sorta-OK moments? They can be quickly forgotten.

But no more. Now there is a small, wearable camera that can literally photograph every moment of your life. NPR reports.

Question...

•Is this cool or creepy?

•How many photos do you shoot during an average week?

•How do you react to being photographed without your consent?

•If this sold for $100, would you buy one?

iStool Pigeon

Is your iPhone an iNformant? Do US, British and perhaps other spy agencies have basic data about you? Are corporations also collecting data about you, your preferences, your whereabouts, and your life?

Yes on all counts.

The New York Times and The Guardian of London recently reported on how the National Security Agency (among others) are using so-called "leaky apps" on your smart phone to collect data about you. Here is the New York Times article.

And just in case you were wondering what a "stool pigeon" is, it's clear that you didn't watch enough 1940s gangster movies. Here is the dictionary definition.

Questions...

•Is this a big deal to you? Why or why not?

•What sort of things may you not want to do with your smart phone?

•Which do you fear more: Big Government, or Big Business? Why?

•Is Edward Snowden a hero, a traitor, or something else?

Is Glass Revolutionary, Or Just Revolting?

Google has spent considerable time and money making its wearable computer, Glass, ready for a general consumer rollout. Google's latest move has been to make the device work with prescription lenses and a variety of frames. But is it just too geeky to succeed?

Here's a video that introduces how Glass works. And here is an NPR story about what it is like to wear Glass around other people.

Questions...

•Is Glass too geeky to succeed?

•Is it more like an iPhone, which a lot of people want, or more like a Segway, which only a few people want?

•Who is most likely to buy Google Glass? Who is the target customer?

•Will people eventually get used to others wearing Glass?

•How might Glass be a bad thing for the wearer, or for others?

•Design a Glass app for the Getty Center.

Sam Cyberspade

Something of great value has been taken from you. The police are no help.

As any reader of classic detective fiction will tell you, it is time to call a Private Eye (think Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade) who has ways of finding disreputable people with valuable things.

Today, the valuable things being taken from people are computers and smart phones. And increasingly, people have their own technological way to track them. And the police are telling these amateur detectives to be careful. The LA Weekly reports.

Questions...

•Define "Disintermediation." How is this an example of that?

•What other valuables could someday be trackable online?

•Could this type of tracking technology be used against law-abiding people? How?

•Would you put a tracking chip in your dog or cat? Your elderly grandfather? Your small child?

Will the Twittersphere Be Stifled?

Twitter is not in the Tweeting business. It is in the advertising business.

Twitter account users generally appreciate the company's support of free speech rights. But advertisers generally don't want to be associated with companies that break laws.

So as Twitter continues to grow, it must adapt to the laws of various countries, especially those laws that regulate what can be said. Reuters reports.

Questions...

•What is good about anonymous speech?

•What is bad about anonymous speech?

•How might Twitter's free-speech philosophy come into conflict with its business goals?

•How is Twitter an example of disintermediation?

The Do-Over Law

GCC students "streak" near the Administration Building, March 1974. "Streaking," running in the nude through public places, was a brief fad. Imagine how many streaking photos would exist today if smart phones had existed in the 1970s.

Post a really unfortunate selfie? Write something online that reflects badly on your character, or even your sanity?

Doing rash, ill-considered things is part of being young. And until recently, young people could do ill-advised things and they would eventually be forgotten about. Now every angry, drunken or just plain dumb thing a young person posts about him or herself can be posted on the Internet for all to see, forever.

California is trying to do something about this. Gov. Jerry Brown just signed what is being called the "eraser law." It allows young adults, under certain circumstances, to erase ill-advised comments and photos that they may have posted as minors. Reuters reports.

Questions...

•What do you think of this law?

•Should it be expanded to adults?

•How might an unfortunate post hurt you?

•Is this law enforceable?

Big Glendale Is Watching

The Glendale Unified School District (which DOES NOT include GCC) has hired a company to monitor social media posts by local high school students in an attempt to crack down on cyber bullying and other abusive messages. The company monitors only messages that can be viewed by the public, but some wonder if the school district is overstepping its authority. The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•Is the Glendale Unified School District doing the right thing here? Why or why not?

•Is it an invasion of privacy if only publicly-available messages are monitored?

•Should a student be punished for bullying or other offensive comments made outside of school?

•Would it be permissible for the school district to inform parents if their children are making bullying or otherwise offensive comments? What if they are making possibly suicidal comments?

•What do you think of the list of issues the monitoring company looks for? Are there any you would add? Are there any you would delete?

Future of Glass Isn't Clear

Google Glass is one of the most anticipated, revolutionary, unsettling and geeky high-tech devices to hit the consumer market since, well, forever. Do we really want to live in a world where we can just look at someone and learn everything there is to know about them? And, of course, others will do the same to us. Or is Glass just undeniably cool? The Los Angeles Times reports.

Questions...

•What do you think about Glass?

•Do you foresee a Glass backlash?

•Will Glass Destroy personal Privacy?

•How is the distribution plan for Glass an example of microanalytic functional analysis?

And, just for fun, we have a Poll Everywhere poll.