“Big Data” is being collected every second of every day on you and you most likely do not know it is being collected, much less being sold for a profit by others who never asked you, nor ever shared with you their profit. Apps like Google-owned Waze, Moovit and Strava are selling our activity and behavior data to someone, somewhere. They say they aren’t selling any specific person’s information, but who is to say that they won’t do it in the future or will use the data collected differently?
Google is buying red light camera data. If an insurance company could raise your rates or refuse to insure you because cameras indicate you drove faster than the posted limit, imagine the uproar if cash-strapped government decides to start sending retroactive speeding tickets with fines of however much they choose? There is nothing to stop that from happening now as far as I know.
All this data will create a society that pushes people into a black market against their will. It can be used to prevent you from getting a job, renting a home, obtaining health care so you will have no choice but to operate outside the system. Unfortunately, “we the people” no longer have any say in anything as money has corrupted everything. The only exception is possibly very locally. This is why the U.S. was designed to prevent what is happening right now.
Some will “opt-out” and leave technology behind to live in very remote rural areas where they can still almost have privacy. Remember the days when you could use your backyard swimming pool and not have to worry about your photo being plastered online for anyone to see. Today, you can never know if there is a drone, or someone with a camera phone or a satellite looking down snapping your photo. Perhaps that was always a risk, but less so when images could not be uploaded and shared where anyone can find them.
Opting out will eventually mean not being able to buy anything. It already means not traveling. Did you know Walmart is testing cashless stores? In them you cannot pay with cash. Soon there may be almost nowhere you can pay with cash. Those who want to opt out better be planning ahead. Some will live the simple life where the only necessities are access to clean water, locally grown food, and shelter. Others will tell themselves that this will never harm them…
Jeff Seal
Managing Partner
Editor in Chief
Telecom Review North America