International Privacy Laws: Is anything really private?
Cover Image Source: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/660056
Technology, in the way most people conceptualize the term, seems to have a positive connotation. Technology brings about the name associations such as: ‘advanced’, ‘progressive’, and ‘forward-thinking’. While these adjectives conceive a hopeful and optimistic view of technology, these achievements are curtailed by the abuse of them, and security issues. It seems that scientific innovation is racing ahead into unknown territories, leaving law makers to scramble to account for and react to these newfound innovations and the vulnerabilities they concurrently bring into existence.
When examining everyday life in 2019, it seems technology is irrefutably infused into our daily routines. Almost every person, despite country, socio-economic class, or political beliefs has a phone. The countless hours users spend, playing games on smart phones, texting friends and family, and video chatting have become the norm rather than the exception. Phones are used as a social tool, connecting people with a greater global network. However, while people are collecting texts, and phone calls and memes from the internet realms, iPhones are simultaneously collecting data on you. As of 2019, Google has just released a four Pixel Android smart phone worth $800. It is boasted to have two back lenses cameras with the ability for zoom shots and night vision. Yet, more importantly, the new Android phone is designed to watch you. The concept is to create a phone infused with artificial intelligence, creating a phone that reads your wants and needs. Google aspired to make a quote “polite phone” that would lower the sound when ringing as it sensed a hand reaching for it so as to not disturb conversations. With the wave of a hand, users of the Four Pixel Android phone will be able to advance songs on a playlist, turn off alarms, and answer incoming calls. The sensors are designed to work up to a three feet radius and are meant to provide a more “intimate” experience.
Thus far, the new Android phone seems novel, fantastic, and tempting. However, upon closer examination, alarming security issues arise. To begin, Google has not put any safety restrictions on the phone being able to differentiate between different persons, allowing anyone to take control of the sensor feature. Additionally, no tech company has ever granted a phone artificial intelligence to this degree. To have a phone always watching, noting ones every move, location, and action seems to be, in a word, problematic.
Though a smart phone that stores data, and has an artificial intelligence, anticipating your physical gestures and recognizing your daily routines seems convenient and beneficial, individuals are putting themselves at risk for identity theft. The Washington Post conducted an experiment and found that websites track an average of 11,189 cookies off an individual phone and computer per week. This data contributes to a number of personal identity breaches. For example, Apple Pay tracks the number of purchases, where these purchases were made, and the time-frame they were conducted in, sharing this information not only with apple but also with other marketing companies. This translates to a more targeted advertising campaign, inevitably leading to companies watching individuals’ preference patterns. In the most extreme sense, one could make the statement that every purchase using an smart phone has been tracked, calculated and carefully monitored by a third party. While these third parties usually are sales and marketing companies, individuals who use smart phones to complete transactions whether that be computers, or phones open themselves up to a plethora of security breaches. The website IHaveBeenPwned was created to show users how many times their “secret” passwords have been recorded by third parties. These passwords could be anything from email passwords, bank accounts, school accounts, or work ID passwords. While your Android Four Pixel phone is always watching, is it watching out for you, or watching on someone else’s behalf?
The issue of the Android “polite” phone only skims the surface of the personal security issues challenging global citizens. In terms of personal information, the United States Privacy agreement on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) is under attack. Healthcare providers in the U.S are selling patients personal health data to marketing companies. For example, George Washington Medical Services (GW) in Washington D.C was recently found to allow its patient health portal, FollowMyHealth.com, to use personal health data for marking and advertising purposes. In small text at the end of the patient agreement, GW explicitly states that they have the right to share all patients personal information with this third party site. With no option of enhancing security settings or limitations on a patient portal, patients are inevitably vulnerable and unprotected against this privacy override. FollowMyHealth.com’s director Tom Lynch stated that this site is not bound by the HIPPA agreement as they are merely alerting patients “certain goods and services that could support their ability to make more informed choices about their own healthcare.” Lynch’s statement however appears to directly conflict with a passage of the HIPPA agreement explicitly stating, an individual has the right to “decide if you want to give your permission before your health information can be used or shared for certain purposes such as marketing.” It seems there is a major clash between the U.S regulations for the security of personal healthcare information and the motives and perceived liberties that third party health portal providers feel they are entitled to take. Thus, it is only matter of time before the issue of personal health data spirals out of control and lands at the front center of a Supreme Court Case.
In sum, while technology has been conceptualized to improve lives, relieving the burden of everyday tasks, it has inevitably exposed individuals, making people more susceptible to cyber-attacks. While the Four Pixel Android phone and new patient portal technology can save people time and effort, they should be used with caution. People need to take responsibility, asking more questions and reading the fine print rather than leaping with blind faith into the embrace of technology. Your phone is always watching you, but are you always watching out for yourself?
