In the 21st century, technology has become even more intricately threaded throughout our lives. As such, the enormity of
Bill C-30’s reach cannot be underestimated. While the bill, "[is] not about surveilling Canadians' Internet habits," (Deputy Chief Murray Stooke of the Calgary Police Service, 2012, cited in The Calgary Herald), one needs to wonder about how this bill might be utilized as an avenue for the surveillance of Canadians' internet habits in the future. Mount Royal University criminologist Doug King notes, "we don't know the privacy implications of the technology we use - at least this bill might put it on the table," (Calgary Herald, 2012). The introduction of, and the subsequent discussion surrounding, Bill C-30 may be the very forum needed in our quest to gain better insight into the complex issue of technology and privacy.
This article also caused me to wonder, at what cost do we
sacrifice our privacy for participation? Thomas & Brown (2011) outline that
the new culture of learning is about freedom, participation, creating and
collectives, all facilitated by a fluid infrastructure. To what extent do we,
as a society, perpetuate and allow for our privacy rights to be waived, or
quietly circumvented, in an attempt to participate?
The transparency of our lives via social media is evident in
status updates on Facebook, photos on a wide range of social media
sites/networks, tweets on Twitter “what are you doing?”, Lifelogging, and
Youtube videos.
Are we allowing and accepting the loss of our privacy rights
through our participation in social media? Or, do we need to reframe our understandings in regards to public vs. private, personal vs. collective, ultimately reshaping what our privacy rights might be/look like within each of those realms?
Cheers,
Theresa
The Calgary Herald (2012). Online privacy must be
safeguarded, critics insist. Retrieved February 201, 2012 from http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Online+privacy+must+safeguarded+critics+insist/6178599/story.html
Thomas, D., Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning:
Cultivating the imagination for a world of constant change. Seattle, WA: Create
Space.
Technology has become a huge part of our lives and has taken it over in many ways. Many people can’t go a day, or even an hour without their smart phone- checking email, Facebook or Twitter. Gone are the days where we were out of touch at times.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely on the cautious side when it comes to what I share on social media sites. I have a Facebook account, but rarely post status updates. I am on Twitter, but have only tweeted twice. A friend wanted to “check me in” on Facebook when we were out at a local pub one night. I had that feature disabled on my Facebook account, as I don’t feel that it is anyones business where I am unless I choose to tell them. I have posted pictures in the past, but rarely do now, as even though you can set it so only friends see your pictures, they can then take them and do what they want with them
I think many people don’t consider the fact that they are making parts of their lives too transparent via social media and don’t consider or filter what they put on social media sites. I am often surprised at what some teacher friends post, and a couple are friends with parents of their students, something I definitely don’t agree with.
Reading your post makes me realize that I don’t know enough about Bill C-30 and need to learn more about it and the implications it has for those who use social media as well as general internet users. Several articles I have read regarding the bill are conflicting as to the possible impact on Canadians, so it appears I am not the only one needing more information and education in this area.