Privacy, Online and Off by Olivia Moran

    After watching all of the TED Talk videos I learned that we are never really safe from surveillance. Whether that be from the government looking for people doing something wrong or illegal or the stalker that finds where you are at all times or the text messages you send to other people. After watching Christopher Soghoian’s TED Talk on surveillance among your telephone calls and text messages we learned that Apple

 is one of the most secure databases in the United States. While he does make a point the Whatsapp is also a viable option to communicate with each other he puts an extreme emphasis on communicating through imessage and facetime provided by Apple.

Soghoian also made the point that while we want the government to know about drug dealers and criminals and to track their behavior that the government would also be able to watch everyone else in the world as well. So with the best of both situations, he promoted safe and secure communication through the applications previously stated. 

    I also found Catherine Crump’s TED Talk on security through license plate readers used by police enforcement. 
During her presentation, she talked about how many tools including cellphone towers and license plate readers track anyone who may pass a cop car or use a cell tower to operate their phone can be tracked. Using the example of Mike Lacave asking his police department what they had of his license plate he found they had tracked his location and the time that he was there along with a picture of each. The department had also found that they had pictures of his car along with him and his two daughters getting out of the car at his house.

    Now, was this too far? In my opinion absolutely, while everyone, I’m sure, wants to stay safe and secure and want people who have maybe stolen cars to be caught it seems too far to track people of no interest. Crump stated that once there is power it will be abused such as blackmail or saving locations and dates for a possible future investigation. 

    Overall, protecting ourselves without being coders or technologically inclined can be possible like using secure messaging applications or city counsels passing laws to have police departments dispose of the data about Innocent people while still allowing the ligament uses of the technology to go forward.