Data collection or data mining is a practice of accumulating data and then putting all that data together to make use of that information. This information is your phone records, your tax records, surveillance camera footage from anywhere. The list goes on and on. So I'm here to tell you that big brother is always watching.
They know what TV you’re watching: When you turn on your TV, the cable provider knows through the box that you are watching a particular channel at a given time and thus knows what show you are watching. Same thing with certain forms of radio, they know you are tuned into a certain frequency and thus what you’re listening too. It is disturbing to know that they know your likes and interests. And guess what, it is all used by the companies to sell more ads and thus the information is up for sale. In fact this information was used by the Democratic Party to help President Obama win his second term in office by looking at who was watching what and when so they could buy ads and commercial time so as to get those likely to vote out to vote for the President. The republicans lagged behind but their strategists predict that in the next election such information will play a crucial role.
They know what you’re searching: Just like with the cable providers, the internet search providers and social networking services know what you are searching and how often you view those pages. These are primarily used to sell ads so that they make money. Think this is wrong, well you agree to them collecting your data when you downloaded their technology to use on your computer. Again, this information is up for grabs and in fact does not require a warrant by police to view as it is not considered by law a personal conversation. Civil rights activists are up in arms however to make such information require a warrant as per the fourth amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
They are watching you: Public cameras are also used to gather information. They can know when you passed through a red light or with just a simple search program can track you from your house to your work place. Adding in simple devices like easy pass and membership cards like a cvs card or a discount card as per your exclusive membership enable them to also know what stores you stopped in and what you bought in each of those stores. You are being tracked everywhere you go.
Data miners: A data miner finds and collects all this information, all without the need for a warrant to get a clear picture of your habits and interests. Such people work for both the government and for private agencies for spying, for locating missing children, to just selling advertisements. It even helps with public relations with respect to getting a president re-elected. Your information is no longer yours to keep.
Conclusion: You are being watched by literally everyone. They know when you use your cell phone and what number you’re calling. The only thing at the governmental level they cannot do is listen to your actual conversations or read your mail (physical and electronic) with out a warrant. Civil liberties activists are suing the government to make all such data apply to the forth amendment so as to protect citizens from any more intrusions by the government with some going a step further to stop private companies from collecting and keeping our data as well. Be aware, big brother along with everyone else is watching.
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