How close is Big Brother?
Wire-taps, SMS text message interception through radio waves, fusion centers, internet surveillance, facial recognition technologies. It all sounds like something right out of a sci-fi.
H
owever, this tech is all in frequent use, and keeps growing and expanding with new breakthroughs occurring almost daily. We already know that the governments of the world always get first dibs when it comes to new-fangled techs; we also know that in the past they haven't always used them with honest intentions. So where does that leave us today? Are we being watched as closely as the conspiracy theorists say? Are our governments actually trying to protect us from a looming threat, or are our governments themselves breaching our privacy in the name of some hidden agenda? I'm here to give you an idea of what our local governments are (admittedly) using technologies for, as well as the ability to decide for yourself who you'd like to rest your faith in. I bet you're already thinking "well, there ARE laws to protect my privacy." Do yourself the favour of looking into these laws, and see all the loopholes that take away your false-sense of "security". If that doesn't scare the shit out of you, I don't know what will.
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It does not authorize noncriminal intelligence gathering, nor does it authorize interceptions related to social or political views.But reading further I found that it all becomes broader and vaguer regarding technologies to wire-tapping.
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In recent years, state statutes have been modified to keep pace with rapid technological advances in telecommunications. For example, New Jersey amended its electronic surveillance statute in 1993 to include cellular telephones, cordless telephones, digital display beepers, fax transmissions, computer-to-computer communications, and traces obtained through 'caller-ID'.In today's day and age, the greatest criminals known are terrorists. But what exactly defines a terrorist? If you went with the automatic response that most people use as a bias, you'd have said "middle eastern looking." This is probably the most unintelligent conclusion people come too willingly since 9/11. START (A science and technology sector of the Department of Homeland Security) has a broader spectrum of what a terrorist is, and not just any terrorist, a domestic terrorist. According to a report released in 2012, things that could define a terrorist are as follows:
- Extreme right-wing groups who feel their personal or national "way of life" is under attack, imminent threat, or already lost. They may also be anti-global, suspicious of centralized federal authority, reverent of individual liberty, and who believe in conspiracy theories that threaten sovereignty.
- Extreme left-wing groups who want to bring change through violent revolution rather than through political means.
- Religious groups who want to smite in God's name, or want to impose religious laws/tenets on laws and society.
- Ethno-Nationalist/Separatists who are committed to regaining political independence through any means.
- Single issue (anti-abortion, anti-Castro, anti-catholic, anti-nuclear).
To read the rest of the report, click here.
So now ask yourself, how many of those categories do you find yourself in? Things just got a bit more uncomfortable for you, didn't they?
Exactly whose privacy becomes very debatable when you look into all?
Looking into Canada's Privacy Act, I've found some equally questionable things. It says that personal information may be disclosed by the Canadian government for any reason, as long as they think they need it.
In the PIPEDA Act it says that "In certain circumstances personal information can be collected, used, or disclosed without the knowledge and consent of the individual" for legal, medical, and security reasons.
I'd also like to quickly mention the Canadian C-30 bill, which would have completely stripped Canadians of online privacy, allowing the government to see literally everything we do online, and would have allowed them to change/remove it. Thankfully, on February 11th of this year, the government folded under public pressure and killed the bill. However, there is still the looming threat of bill C-12, which will basically do the same thing as the C-30 bill.
Both governments are pushing amendments which will give them permission to do whatever they'd like when it comes to keeping an eye on the masses. Our laws protect us moderately for now, and who knows how long that will last.
Countries such as China wire tap and spy on citizens all the time, and they are giving all that ability to other countries, who do the same thing or worse with the tech. The phone providers in the west are in the pockets of the government, and our laws are no longer keeping us as safe as we thought they were.
What are your thoughts on the topic? For more information about it all, feel free to read the
Patriot Act, Canada Privacy Act or PIPEDA.
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