“They”, in the topic of this blog, means the governments or(and) the technology companies. When we feel so lucky to live in a world full of convenient high-tech products, we truly don’t know “they” are “stealing” our digital traces and deciding how to “treat” us based on these digital traces.
Like Rainey Reitman said,
“Modern life means leaving digital traces wherever we go. But those digital footprints can translate to real-world harms: the websites you visit can impact the mortgage offers, car loans and job options you see advertised. This surveillance-based, algorithmic decision-making can be difficult to see, much less address. “
The podcast episode “Podcast Episode: Algorithms for a Just Future”, by Rainey Reitman, the link: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/01/podcast-episode-algorithms-just-future
Sometimes, “they” really “treat” us in a bad way.
Here is an example about how “they” “treat” me based on the digital traces “they” “steal” from me in my daily life:
As a Chinese international student in U of C, I always set the app’s default language to “Simplified Chinese”. Depending on this, YouTube’s algorithms “think” that I must be a person from Mainland China, and YouTube has been showing me this kind of video every day for a very long time:
This kind of video really disturbs me, because I never care about politics. By the way, my mother’s great grandfather was one of the richest capitalists in my home city before the founding of PRC, and my grandfather (my father’s father) was a County Mayor after the founding of PRC. So, I always keep neutral on politics. However, even though I had sent e-mails to YouTube so many times to talk about this, they still keep “recommending” me to watch this kind of video. The reason why they keep doing this, I think, is that YouTube’s algorithms always believe I could become an “anti-CCP” person. Also, I have never allowed them to show me the “recommended” videos based on my personal YouTube account settings because I think my personal YouTube account settings are also a kind of my privacy that I need to protect. Unfortunately, YouTube truly had “stolen” my privacy.
If you have read the news “These Apps Collect the Most Personal Data” written by Jason Cohen (The link: https://www.pcmag.com/news/sick-of-data-collection-try-these-apps-instead), then you can find that the example above is a very normal thing.
There is a diagram in this news:
Since the diagram above, we can find that YouTube is the “most data-hungry streaming app”. YouTube has been tracking almost all kinds of data segments except “Financial Info” from us. The most terrible thing is that if we did not agree with YouTube’s Privacy Details, then it would not allow us to use it on our smartphones. As a result, we have to allow YouTube to “steal” our personal information from us if we want to use it on our smartphones.
However, sometimes, the way “they” “treat” us may truly help us a lot.
The diagram above shows that YouTube can track our browsing history and search history. Why YouTube does this? This is because YouTube’s algorithms can decide what videos to show us as “recommended videos” on the main page or as advertisement videos by analyzing our browsing history and search history on the Internet. Why I say “this may help us a lot”? Here is another example about me:
In September 2021, I found that my laptop was about to break down. I could not study at home without a laptop as a CPSC student, so I began to look for which new laptop was suitable for me on the Internet as quickly as possible. After about six days, YouTube’s algorithms detected that I was trying to find a suitable laptop to buy on the Internet. So, when I was watching a video about Haskell programming on YouTube, it suddenly showed me this advertisement:
After I watched this advertisement, I decided to buy this laptop and got it from Bestbuy on the same day. I have been using it for almost four months since I bought it, I have realized that it is truly what I need. This time, I must say YouTube’s algorithms helped me a lot, sometimes maybe it is not bad to allow YouTube to “steal” some of my privacy.
Conclusion: What should we do?
The philosophers often say “Get both sides of a story before making a decision and find the real truth.” So, if you asked me what we should do in this case, I would say:
- If you really care about your privacy, then after you choose “agree” on the “Privacy Details” page in a mobile app (you have to choose “agree”, otherwise you will not be allowed to use this app), you can go to the phone system “setting” page, and manually manage the app’s permissions in your phone system. However, in this way, you will lose some useful services from the app. Sometimes, the app even cannot run normally in your phone system after it loses some permissions.
- If you think your privacy is not very important, then you can give all system permissions to the app. After this, you can get full services from this app and use all functions in this app. However, in this way, your privacy will be “stolen” by this app. There may be some bad influences on you if you allow the app to get your privacy easily. For example, the app owner may know your home location and the place you work (by tracking your current location), it is not a good thing for your bank account security; the app owner may also get your social networks (by accessing and analyzing your contacts in your smartphone), it is not a good thing for protecting the privacy of the people who are in your social networks.
There are some similar ways about what we should do on PCs, you can find them easily on the Internet. In my opinion, compare to smartphones, PCs are much “safer”. This is because the interface on PCs allows us to easily find out which programs in an application are “stealing” our privacy.
Extension: Why do “they” always want to “steal” our privacy?
This is because “they” want to “control” us, “they” even want to “control” everything in this society. The first step is to get (maybe “steal”) the information in this society as much as possible. Then, “they” use their algorithms to analyze the information “they” have got, and decide which information should be shown to us. In this way, we are not able to get the most precise information, we can only get the information which “they” want us to know.
This is all about “The Filter Bubble”:
Reference:
- The podcast episode “Podcast Episode: Algorithms for a Just Future”, by Rainey Reitman, the link: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/01/podcast-episode-algorithms-just-future
- A screenshot on the topic of a news video provided by CNN on YouTube, link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idl3ZJG36PY&t=27s
- The news “These Apps Collect the Most Personal Data”, by Jason Cohen, the link: https://www.pcmag.com/news/sick-of-data-collection-try-these-apps-instead
- A screenshot on the advertisement video for ASUS TUF Dash F15, link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLAND8p6LkM
- The TED Talk video “Beware Online “Filter Bubbles””, by Eli Pariser, the link: https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles
One should indeed hear both sides of the story before coming to a conclusion. I came across something similar when I was doing the Facebook question in the worksheet 01. I wasn’t shocked to see that Facebook had a record of my likes, my voice searches, previous locations and God knows what else they have. My point being this is why my feed always shows me stuff according to my preferences. In other words Facebook personalises my feed for me based on my likes etc.
Therefore, in my opinion “they” are not always stealing our data because in some cases we benefit. For example the story about how the author of this blog purchased his new laptop proves this. So, investigate both sides before coming to a conclusion. Great post!
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you! I used to open Facebook app on my smartphone every day to look through some funny news and join in some interesting groups. However, in 2019, I found that Facebook could always show me some news or messages from others that were relevant to what I was currently interested in. One day, when I was looking through the sharings from others on Facebook, a stranger on Facebook sent a message to me, saying: “How are you? Are you living near the Foothill Medical Center? We can make friends”. This truly scared me, I didn’t know how he(she) knew where I lived at that time. So, after that, I uninstalled the Facebook app. I had never used Facebook again until last week because I needed to finish Worksheet 01.
This is an interesting dilemma. On one hand, I too have benefitted from targeted advertising (and as much as it pains me to say it, I kind of prefer to see relevant ads than irrelevant ones), but its certainly an invasion of privacy that can go wrong. While it’s always nice when google has the perfect product to show you which meets all of your needs at a particular moment, the ways one could use this data for bad, or the potential for incorrect assumptions based on data collection that could be upsetting (such as the political videos you referenced) are a definite drawback.
I think ultimately its a matter of trust, both in the companies you’re providing your data to and the governing bodies regulating these things. If you trust that companies will follow regulations and be punished accordingly for doing shady things, consenting to this data collection can bring you many benefits. On the other hand, if you’re the cynical type that thinks the government is collecting all of your data anyway, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to be recommended a nice laptop every once in a while if privacy isn’t an option. The issue becomes much more complicated for skeptics who don’t know who to trust; in that case, I’d probably forgo the ads.
Good post!
Thank you for your comment!
This is a very controversial topic because some people might think that these websites are trying to steal our data and our personal information but I wouldn’t say that’s completely true because there was a time when I was online shopping on amazon and I was not able to find something I needed and then I quit since it was time consuming and and I went over You tube and I saw that I got ads based on what I was searching and now my entire feed is that and it did benefit me since I was able to find what I needed, so these apps basically collect my data based on what I interact with and provide me with those resources so I wouldn’t really say its stealing our data instead it’s helping us and benefitting us.
Although it may not be same for others since they do have collectively huge amount of our information and some people might be under constant fear of these apps stealing our data so we cannot really come to a conclusion since it depends on people’s view and there isn’t a correct answer.
Amazing post!
Thank you for your comment!
Technology and Tech companies have come to a strange spot. On one hand, these are for-profit private/public companies that provide a voluntary service, while on the other hand they alone dictate so much yet we don’t know who “they” are. It would likely be wrong to assume they are malicious, but on the other hand the actions of these companies profoundly affect billions of people. We want the technology to improve, so hindering these companies, their employees and the shareholders of these companies is likely not a good idea; the wealth of many is on the line. To contrast that, giving entities such power without the accountability of democratic governments puts people’s autonomy at stake. I cannot imagine being a lawyer for any of these companies; every action companies like Alphabet take is probably like stepping on glass.
I feel like we often forget that we are the first generation of humans to ever encounter such a problem; nobody knows which answer is right or wrong, and I suppose when we choose to accept the benefits of something, we have to understand the consequences and be ready to accept them, at least until we know how something plays out in regards to privacy and information autonomy.
Your perspective as someone from mainland China was very informative, thank you for the great post. The use of personal data for commerce, like from your laptop example, is a double edged sword, especially when the technology is used for things like politics and/or control.
Thank you for your comment! Yes, I agree with you. In fact, governments and elites around the world have been trying to “control” our minds by “controlling” the media and the information for a very long time, like what Eli said in the Ted talk. I would feel very happy if “they” show me some useful and helpful advertisements based on my privacy through the media. On the opposite, I would feel very angry if “they” show me the videos and articles about politics based on my privacy on the Internet, because I think politics should not influence ordinary people too much in daily life. In my opinion, there should be some non-government organizations supervising what the governments do on the Internet.
This blog focused on very informative and interesting points. It is intriguing to see perspective from both sides as pros and cons of technology. I ended up watching the ted talk video mentioned and I was also very shocked by the picture showing YouTube as one of the apps that tries to “steal” your personal information the most.
YouTube algorithms work in a very interesting way and in a more compelling form than is often expressed. It is suspicious how no matter what we do “they” are always following us and thereby our privacy is at risk. However, at the same time we need to use these apps as survival without them has today become difficult.
I would say this was a very intriguing blog! Good job on it.
Thank you for your comment! Yes, I agree with you. It is very hard to decide whether the algorithms in these apps are good or bad for us in our daily life. Based on the privacy, these algorithms truly have been threatening our privacy for a very long time. Those technology companies have got so much personal information from us by using their algorithms. We are not able to pay enough attention to protecting our privacy all the time. However, these algorithms allow the apps to show us the messages (including texts and videos) that we are interested in. In this way, we don’t need to waste time looking for these messages by ourselves on the Internet. In my opinion, I prefer to turn off some functions in these apps to protect our privacy and give up some services from these apps, because I think our privacy is much more important than the better services from them.
This is a difficult balancing act in modern networks. When we want the web to serve us, having a deep understanding of us is essential in order to align it with our preferences or desires. It’s as if a longtime friend knows how much I like certain vegetables. However, social media and other software can be a headache for our records because there is no guarantee that the information will be used properly. Even if they make similar assurances, how can we ensure that the information will not be stolen by others using cyber attacks? It is clear that we need better protection of personal information in order to enjoy convenience. Or maybe as times move on it will become an outcome everyone can easily accept. Thinking of personal information as a valuable object, “they” are now like the banks that have just entered people’s lives.
Very interesting position. I assume that most people are quick to take a defensive stance upon discovering how much data the apps they use on a daily basis extract from them, therefore, it is unique for you to discuss and provide your own positive example. I somewhat agree that the data that these applications extract from us sometimes provide us with a more tailored experience. If I must be bombarded with advertisements I would much rather see ones that I have a personal interest in and are relevant to me, rather than ones that I have no interest in. Although, it is still somewhat disturbing when you are in the market for a product and suddenly you are bombarded with targeted ads of the exact product you were viewing. It definitely makes one feel as though they are being watched.
I think this is a very thoughtful and great post! I like how you were able to look at an issue with both sides before making a conclusion. I agree that websites are eating up a lot of our data without our knowledge and selling them to other buyers behind our back. Alternatively, some data collection seems to be done with good intentions to better optimize the user experience. Nonetheless, there is a super fine line between helping and exploiting. I completely agree with your position on this post. As such, this brings me to another point and that is how do you think companies can achieve this fine balance? alternatively, what incentive could be provided to them to better protect users’ private data from being exploited? Overall, I think this was a well-written post and I commend you on the philosophical analysis 🙂
Very interesting post. I appreciate your argument about the pros and cons of technology. After watching the post, I was reminded of my friend talking about something and searching on the Internet, and then the next week, whether it was an AD on a shopping platform or a video app, I was pushed that thing. While we gain convenience, it also makes me wonder whether these software is monitoring my personal privacy at any time. We also need to do a better job of protecting personal privacy while enjoying convenience.
Interesting posts! After reading your post, I realized that websites are collecting a lot of our data without our knowledge and selling it to other buyers behind our backs. Your post does a great job of illustrating the problem from a different point of view. I support your point about the pros and cons of technology. While the Internet allows us to gain convenience, it also exposes our privacy to harm. While enjoying the convenience, we also need to better protect personal privacy.