Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy?

Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (Full Version)

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ParappaTheDapper -> Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:04:56 AM)
Lady Constanze made an intriguing claim in another thread: quote: There will always be people who think they do not want to give Google all that much info about everything they do, most people are getting more and more sensitive about their privacy concerns. I think people will become more and more aware of this, technology is becoming cheaper and cheaper but at the same time the desire for privacy is also rising. I was tempted to ask Her about it in that thread, but it would have felt like a massive derailment. To me, this is an extremely salient issue, and I think much of the way our personal lives and the world around us develop in the next five to ten years is going to turn on whether or not people really are becoming more concerned about privacy. My intuition is that, frighteningly enough, people are actually becoming so desensitized to both governmental and corporate harvesting of personal data that many of them are too far gone to care. I think that, in terms of trying to gauge where the hivemind of tech savvy 20 and 30somethings is headed, at any rate, the reaction to Facebook's "Facial Recognition Software" is going to be quite telling. These aren't the only opinions that matter, of course, but these have been the opinions that have been among the most influential to corporations who expand into social networking in recent years. But it's usually pretty useless to try to be a soothsayer and guess what other people think and how other people will react. So I'm wondering whether you, personally, have become more concerned about privacy online in recent years. To answer my own question, I think I've become more selective about the things I want to keep private, but more concerned with keeping those things private. At the same time, I've come to accept that so much information is going to be available for anyone who cares to look and so much more information available for companies and organizations who make it their business to know these things that the notion of "privacy" as I would have understood it long ago is gone for good. I've made it a point to learn more about privacy settings on various sites and how to use them to strike a balance between private and public information. So I've become more conscious of privacy, and more vigilant about guarding some data (especially work related) but at the same time I've learned to live with the idea that it's an increasingly public world. I also hope it isn't out of line to quote Lady Costanze here without asking permission first. I just wanted to give credit where it is due for making me start thinking about this question this morning!

myotherself -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:08:33 AM)
great topic! I read LadyC's original and it got me thinking too. I'm aware that the UK Government has a shitload of info on me, whether I want them to or not. When applying for a particular type of US visa a few years ago I was rather stunned when during an interview with the US Embassy before the visa was granted, the official reeled off a lot of info about me that quite frankly I thought was private. But now I'm more paranoid. I make sure that my online activities are as private as I can make them. I have multiple email accounts for multiple applications. I don't post personal pics online, not even on facebook. Hell, I don't even use my real name on facebook! It's a scary world, although to be honest I'm not really sure what I'm scared about.

ParappaTheDapper -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:24:22 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: myotherself great topic! I read LadyC's original and it got me thinking too. I'm aware that the UK Government has a shitload of info on me, whether I want them to or not. When applying for a particular type of US visa a few years ago I was rather stunned when during an interview with the US Embassy before the visa was granted, the official reeled off a lot of info about me that quite frankly I thought was private. But now I'm more paranoid. I make sure that my online activities are as private as I can make them. I have multiple email accounts for multiple applications. I don't post personal pics online, not even on facebook. Hell, I don't even use my real name on facebook! It's a scary world, although to be honest I'm not really sure what I'm scared about. Thanks for replying! I get a kick out of the fact that so many Americans earnestly believe the UK is less of a surveillance state than the good ol' US of A. It's always been my impression that the UK has always surpassed the US in terms of ability and desire to collect data on its own citizens and that in recent years this trend has only escalated. Tangentially related to online privacy but directly related to the notion of a security state, last time I was in London I had the distinct impression that I was essentially wandering around in a panopticon.

myotherself -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:28:05 AM)
I used to work in this industry, and I'm aware of what they can find out and how they do it. Which is why I view my 'paranoia' as being 'sensible', lol I think the US is pretty much on a par with the UK, but obviously I don't have the data to prove it empirically. All I know is that the UK and the US know more about me than I find comfortable, even some of my medical history!

LadyConstanze -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:28:17 AM)
Thanks for asking but I'm absolutely fine with it... It might be just me, but my situation is similar to the bunny, having worked in the US before, then flying frequently, I knew they'd have an eye on me, then some jobs required security clearances of various degrees - it's not just the government that has the info on you, quite a lot of private companies too, as long as they are linked in with the government in various degrees. What I found out is that they're really not that concerned about your kinks, but they will bring them up to test the waters, so if you react in panic, or you lie to them, you are a security risk as you could be blackmailed. The most telling thing I encountered was when I had a prepaid credit card, even under another name, I bought some of the more "saucy" items with it (was a rather narrow limit on it anyway to avoid tax fraud and all that and to the best of my knowledge completely legal, you could only spend the money you had paid in) but I simply didn't want to use my own card and have extreme restrains or such on the bank statements. Guess what, it came up in an interview, not "Why did you use a prepaid credit card for the purchase" but "What did you buy item XY for?" I smiled sweetly and asked if they really want the graphic details of my personal sex life, in that case I would prefer to explain it to a woman, no offense but a man would find it maybe a bit arousing and we want to keep this professional. It wasn't an issue and I got cleared, but yeah, it is fairly amazing what they know about you. To be honest, I'm sure they can find out everything down to the colour of my thong anyway, but I'll be damned if I make it any easier for them. Another reason why I am a bit careful with private info is the fact that I've been stalked twice and it's not a pleasant experience. I rather not have that again and somebody who thinks I'm not too forthcoming with my private info, well, too bad - better luck somewhere else...

SweetShySubgirl -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:35:29 AM)
I'd like to find a way for myself to be more private, and my family as well. Had a scare recently and it woke me up. Need to figure out if there's a way to get things made a little more confidential. If not for myself then for them.

Muttling -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:35:57 AM)
I certainly agree that the U.S. is NOT the leader in "surveillance states". This said, it is quite frightening what is collected.... The Federal gov is somewhat limited, but the Patriot Act (and it's subsequent renewal) is a scary thing as well as a slippery slope. Even more frightening is what private companies are allowed to collect and maintain. As with everything, the data itself isn't the big question.....it's how will it be used.

ParappaTheDapper -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:37:50 AM)
quote: It might be just me, but my situation is similar to the bunny, having worked in the US before, then flying frequently, I knew they'd have an eye on me, then some jobs required security clearances of various degrees - it's not just the government that has the info on you, quite a lot of private companies too, as long as they are linked in with the government in various degrees. I was speaking with a former play partner/girlfriend who recently moved up into a pretty coveted position at an investment bank on Wall Street. Let me pause to say that she is a Jewish feminist from a connected family who works in investment banking so let's take a moment to appreciate the fact that her mere existence is enough to make a lot of let's say "grass roots" types in America want to claw their eyes out. That's neither here nor there but it's something I love about her. At any rate, to get the job she had to go through a pretty grueling series of interviews and at the last interview a member of the panel brought up, not too discreetly, some "interesting purchases" she'd made in the previous 6 months. I've known her forever, and even back in the day she was cautious to the point of paranoia about letting her kinky life leave any kind of trail and I'm sure she's grown even more cautious as she's moved up the ladder. Like You, she was unruffled and just replied that "My sex life gets rough. I don't think playing rough in anything is exactly frowned upon here is it?"

sexisubi -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:41:01 AM)
just on the concern of privacy, in a private session, the united states senate voted for the patriot act to be reinstated, and because it was all behind closed doors no one knows why... with that said yes privacy is importent http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-patriot-act-20110524,0,7552843.story two large hacking orginizations have done several things to people as well, like for instance, posted a picture of a random woman's boobs on her facebook, which they obtained by hacking into her email and facebook page. the other group set up a fake date and video taped her disappointment when the date didnt show... so am i scared... yeah i kinda am! lol not that i think boobs are just gonna pop up or im gonna be stood up i could care less, but hackers are getting more bored and the gov is going for more power... less for the people, more for cooperate.

ParappaTheDapper -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:43:10 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Muttling I certainly agree that the U.S. is NOT the leader in "surveillance states". This said, it is quite frightening what is collected.... The Federal gov is somewhat limited, but the Patriot Act (and it's subsequent renewal) is a scary thing as well as a slippery slope. Even more frightening is what private companies are allowed to collect and maintain. As with everything, the data itself isn't the big question.....it's how will it be used. What I find most alarming, to be quite honest, is the level of cooperation and information sharing and swapping that goes on between private companies and governmental agencies. I think there has been a blurry line, at best, for years now between the government and corporate America but in the past couple of decades that line often seems to have been all but obliterated. Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually, I suppose!

pahunkboy -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:54:27 AM)
I doubt I could easily be explained... the more they dig the odder it would get. Fuzzier. So more info on me- really wont clear much of anything up. oh well. shit happens.

LadyConstanze -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 10:58:07 AM)
I wasn't unruffled, I was pretty shocked but after years of working in journalism, you see plenty of things where you do have to keep a straight face... Mind you I often was pretty shocked at international conferences how many CEOs or MDs have porn on their laptops and use their business laptops to access porn, with ports wide often. During boring speeches or lunch breaks doing a quick scan was quite entertaining, what was even more entertaining was the fact that a lot of the companies did screen their staff for security issues, while anybody into industrial espionage would have just needed to target them and possibly would have gotten all the sensitive data from their laptops. Another thing I'm a bit paranoid about is logging into open networks at airports and so on...

sexisubi -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 11:03:09 AM)
and has anyone seen the picture recognition on google now? soon no profile will be safe, so if youre a closed door bdsm'er like myself... well it might not be so closed for long!

pahunkboy -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 11:13:47 AM)
^ how would you stop a borrowed pic of one person- showing up for another? ?

Muttling -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 11:17:37 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: LadyConstanze .....Mind you I often was pretty shocked at international conferences how many CEOs or MDs have porn on their laptops and use their business laptops to access porn, with ports wide often...... What??????? OMFG.......Industry leaders and doctors are actually interested in sexual activities???? Next you'll be telling me that some of the self proclaimed puritans like Republicans and Southern Baptists are gay.

sexisubi -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 11:22:53 AM)
well i guess there are several ways, you could contact the website, but i mean i have several pics of me on here! i dont think it could be more obvious if i put a flag on my face this is my account. its pretty obvious! side story i was a supervisor of a large coorperation a few years back and someone saw my alt profile while surfing for porn... he was an associate of another department but having someone come up and ask you about it youre like yeah thats me, let the embarrassment and rumors commence! it was a long time ago though :) but yeah i guess i could use it as an excuse... for a moment.

LaTigresse -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 11:41:59 AM)
No, I am not at all concerned.

LadyConstanze -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 12:43:25 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Muttling quote: ORIGINAL: LadyConstanze .....Mind you I often was pretty shocked at international conferences how many CEOs or MDs have porn on their laptops and use their business laptops to access porn, with ports wide often...... What??????? OMFG.......Industry leaders and doctors are actually interested in sexual activities???? Next you'll be telling me that some of the self proclaimed puritans like Republicans and Southern Baptists are gay. I wasn't shocked that they are interested in sexual activities but on their company laptops... Biggest WHOOPSIE ever was a guy giving a speech at an international conference, of course he refused to put his slides on a memory stick, refused to take part in the rehearsal, refused to cooperate in any way and was a pest to everybody (leering at women, being nasty to the staff doing their job, security, waiters, etc.), now of course there was a massive delay (he also insisted using his own lappy) as it didn't work with the system and they needed to make adjustments, they finally had it right and he couldn't find his speech. One of the techie guys suggested "last files used" and just pressed it and yep, on the gigantic screen in front of 500 other CEOs you could see the last files used, errr, most of them were movies with rather obvious names. There was a lull in the murmured conversation, a few seconds of deadly silence, then titters, then murmured conversation resumed and everybody pretended they didn't see a thing and he gave his presentation but had the colour of an overripe tomato... I mean how freaking embarrassing and professional is that? But it couldn't have happened to a nicer person...

Kaliko -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 3:39:45 PM)
I can't say I'm really concerned for my privacy as far as identity. I don't do anything illegal. I don't post pictures online that I wouldn't want my mother to see. I don't use my work computer or my work network for anything I don't want work to see I'm doing. I don't post on social network sites during work time. I am very strict with my privacy regarding my pictures and my posts on Facebook and face recognition is blocked. We used to have our names, addresses and phone numbers in a book that was delivered to everyone's home. On the one hand, yes, it's much easier now to gain that same information, and more, from the internet. I'm just an amateur and I can get some real good info on people...I can only imagine what someone with more time and expertise can do. On the other hand...when people can get more info about me, that means I can get more info about them, too. I learned something recently about someone that I met that made me 100% not want to date him. Never would have known that if not for the internet. I was able to look up all the locations of registered sex offenders on electronic maps before choosing a place to live. I was able to hire an appliance repairmen based on reviews found online. I was able to research patents that someone was claiming to have (he did) and I was able to check weekly for wounded soldiers in Iraq. All of these are privacy issues - for someone else. For me, they're benefits to my life. It's all a trade off. Something I do every now and then is a search for myself. I look for myself online the way I do when I'm "Googling" someone to see all that I can find out about myself. So far, so good. Nothing awful or too revealing out there. Now...that being said...my PayPal account was hacked just this past week. Two unauthorized charges on my account and I had to get a new debit card. Ah, well.

Muttling -> RE: Are you becoming more concerned about your privacy? (6/16/2011 3:56:38 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: LadyConstanze One of the techie guys suggested "last files used" and just pressed it and yep, on the gigantic screen in front of 500 other CEOs you could see the last files used, errr, most of them were movies with rather obvious names. hehe......Kind of similar to a friend of mine who popped up an entire folder with nude pictures of his wife and another woman in the middle of a presentation to the Army Corps of Engineers. There wasn't 500 in the room, but it was a bunch. LMAO

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