Monday, January 21, 2013
Privacy and the first amendment
Several of the Constitutional amendments have come under discussion of late--the first and second most prominently. The second, regarding an armed militia, currently has the greatest interest. But it is the first where we need to focus our attention. For while we worry about our ability to arm ourselves, we need to make sure our free speech is not eroded.
We often feel that the right of free speech is a given. Our ability to say what we want, when we want, is sacred. There are the shouting fire in a theatre limitations, but you can say what you want, when you want. Right?
It depends.
We have often talked about the soap box in the town square. You can profess your beliefs in the town square. But increasingly, the town square is being replaced by the quad in the local mall. You might be surprised, but you don't have free speech in the quad because it is far from the town square. It is not public property. It is private--probably owned by some mega-corporation who doesn't want the flow of shoppers to be sidetracked or interrupted from their purchasing.
This extends to even taking pictures on the property of a mall. I once was checking out a new lens I had purchased and was standing beside my car in the parking lot at a mall in Annapolis. I pointed toward the mall (near the movieplex entrance at that mall) checking the focus when mall cop stopped and asked me what I was doing. I explained I was checking a new lens I had just bought in the mall. He said I could not take pictures of the mall. I assured him I wasn't. Offered to show him my digital viewfinder. He left but I could see he had not moved too far off.
I know that if I had moved off the mall property like to the other side of the street, he wouldn't have bothered me. This was before the popularity of cell phone cameras. I'm sure that mall cop's problems controlling photographers have increased exponentially.
Busiensses--like a mall corporation--are not bound by the first amendment. The first doesn't extend inside the firm's door.
Historically, if you had a complaint about a corporation, you were often a single voice shouting into the wind. It was easy to ignore you. Yes. There was the possibility of class-action law suits, that that was expensive and time-consuming.
The internet as we see it today, changed all of that. Through social media movements can be launched that make corporations take note. More on social media in a later post.
We often feel that the right of free speech is a given. Our ability to say what we want, when we want, is sacred. There are the shouting fire in a theatre limitations, but you can say what you want, when you want. Right?
It depends.
We have often talked about the soap box in the town square. You can profess your beliefs in the town square. But increasingly, the town square is being replaced by the quad in the local mall. You might be surprised, but you don't have free speech in the quad because it is far from the town square. It is not public property. It is private--probably owned by some mega-corporation who doesn't want the flow of shoppers to be sidetracked or interrupted from their purchasing.
This extends to even taking pictures on the property of a mall. I once was checking out a new lens I had purchased and was standing beside my car in the parking lot at a mall in Annapolis. I pointed toward the mall (near the movieplex entrance at that mall) checking the focus when mall cop stopped and asked me what I was doing. I explained I was checking a new lens I had just bought in the mall. He said I could not take pictures of the mall. I assured him I wasn't. Offered to show him my digital viewfinder. He left but I could see he had not moved too far off.
I know that if I had moved off the mall property like to the other side of the street, he wouldn't have bothered me. This was before the popularity of cell phone cameras. I'm sure that mall cop's problems controlling photographers have increased exponentially.
Busiensses--like a mall corporation--are not bound by the first amendment. The first doesn't extend inside the firm's door.
Historically, if you had a complaint about a corporation, you were often a single voice shouting into the wind. It was easy to ignore you. Yes. There was the possibility of class-action law suits, that that was expensive and time-consuming.
The internet as we see it today, changed all of that. Through social media movements can be launched that make corporations take note. More on social media in a later post.
Monday, January 07, 2013
Your technology future is not a private place
It is CES time again. The Consumer Electronics Show 2013 is open in Las Vegas.
It gives a snapshot of the state of the industry and plans for the near future.
If anything, the personal electronic device has evolved from the PDA to the smartphone. It has been joined by the tablet as personal communications devices. These devices are already merging as phones get larger and tablets get smaller.
These devices are the locus of massive changes going on in our society. We talk of social media and sites like Facebook and marvel at how we are able to reach out and community with each other. But it also allows others to reach in and communicate with us.
I grew up in the days before George Orwells' 1984. My generation read it and watched the year come and go. No big deal. Sure we thought of Big Brother and government intrusion. After all, we had just gone through the Vietnam War and the draft. The two-way television monitors of Orwell's book pale in comparison to what the smartphone in your pocket can do for government or, for that matter, business--more on this later.
We willingly give up freedoms for convenience. Privacy is quickly fading as something we can assume. It is possible now to track your every move through your smartphone. You have probably willingly allowed these when you downloaded and installed various apps for your phone. These apps provide a convenience for you but they also provide a door to your habits.
Privacy will also be eroded as you willingly allow insurance companies to monitor your driving habits so you can get a break on your car insurance. Such arrangements are already being offered if you allow a little black box to be mounted on your car.
Yes, this is if you opt in, but what of those who choose to opt out? The that opt out will get the higher rate and be suspect of wanting to hide their poor driving habits. If you speed, habitually accelerate rapidly, jam on the brakes, that makes you a poor risk for insurance companies. They suspect you of that, you wont get any discount.
Twenty years ago this was unthinkable. Twenty years ago was 1992 almost a decade after Orwell's benchmark of 1984. Now, it is thinkable. It is a reality.
We know we need to control the excesses of one Big Brother -- government, but we also must consider the other Big Brother -- Big Business. More next time.
It gives a snapshot of the state of the industry and plans for the near future.
If anything, the personal electronic device has evolved from the PDA to the smartphone. It has been joined by the tablet as personal communications devices. These devices are already merging as phones get larger and tablets get smaller.
These devices are the locus of massive changes going on in our society. We talk of social media and sites like Facebook and marvel at how we are able to reach out and community with each other. But it also allows others to reach in and communicate with us.
I grew up in the days before George Orwells' 1984. My generation read it and watched the year come and go. No big deal. Sure we thought of Big Brother and government intrusion. After all, we had just gone through the Vietnam War and the draft. The two-way television monitors of Orwell's book pale in comparison to what the smartphone in your pocket can do for government or, for that matter, business--more on this later.
We willingly give up freedoms for convenience. Privacy is quickly fading as something we can assume. It is possible now to track your every move through your smartphone. You have probably willingly allowed these when you downloaded and installed various apps for your phone. These apps provide a convenience for you but they also provide a door to your habits.
Privacy will also be eroded as you willingly allow insurance companies to monitor your driving habits so you can get a break on your car insurance. Such arrangements are already being offered if you allow a little black box to be mounted on your car.
Yes, this is if you opt in, but what of those who choose to opt out? The that opt out will get the higher rate and be suspect of wanting to hide their poor driving habits. If you speed, habitually accelerate rapidly, jam on the brakes, that makes you a poor risk for insurance companies. They suspect you of that, you wont get any discount.
Twenty years ago this was unthinkable. Twenty years ago was 1992 almost a decade after Orwell's benchmark of 1984. Now, it is thinkable. It is a reality.
We know we need to control the excesses of one Big Brother -- government, but we also must consider the other Big Brother -- Big Business. More next time.
