The Age of Corporate Spying

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Yes, I said it: corporate spying. This will no doubt conjure images of big dark rooms filled with desks and cubicles; hooded figures tapping on keyboards wearing OJ Simpson style gloves; and monitors everywhere. I assure you that this image isn’t too far off from reality. Just ditch the gloves and light the room to discover a smartly decorated workspace, where those hooded figures wear ironic tee shirts and flip-flops.

Many people are aware of, and downright incensed about government surveillance and the collection of citizens’ “private” data, but very few care to think about the massive amounts of information that corporations collect on a daily basis. Sure, government collection of data is jarring to some, and Wikileaks happily fuels the fire with their publications. The bottom line with government data collection is that there is a legitimate reason for it: to prevent terrorism. When corporations do the very same thing (and in the very same manners) it is solely for profit. Think about it; when you use services like Facebook and Twitter, you aren’t the consumer: you’re the product. These companies siphon data from your computer such as what websites you visit, what you click on, what you search for, etc. and they sell that data to other companies.

That’s why Facebook is “free” to use.

With the recent revelation of Vizio and Samsung using their line of Smart TVs to secretly listen on consumers, it is quite shocking to me that so many people are willing to accept that as a mere cost of convenience, yet within the same breath lament the government for collecting the same data. Let’s not forget the fact that one team in this game protects the data it collects behind the need for a court order and shares it with no-one.

That team is most certainly NOT the corporations that gather user data; that would encroach upon their ability to sell the pictures, searches, and private data that they store on you to anyone who wants to purchase it. I should mention that I’m certainly not making a defense for blanket government surveillance, but I do make a distinction between data collection that keeps me safe in public, and data collection that is only used to line the pockets of a corporation.

I have a little more patience for one than I do for the other…

Once upon a time (not too long ago), you could disable cookies in your web browser and surf the internet just fine. Sure, you’d make exceptions for any websites that you didn’t want to repetitiously log in to every time you visited them, but for the most part the web functioned just fine. Have you tried disabling cookies lately? At best, your favorite sites will force you to repeatedly log in, but the more likely case will be that they flat out won’t work.

All in the name of tracking you and selling your information off to the highest bidder. Consider those points, when you read about the new wave of WikiLeaks exposures, and ask yourself if the public outrage is indeed legitimate. As citizens, we cannot make a rational argument against our government collecting data (in an effort to keep us safe), while turning a blind eye to corporations doing the exact same thing (but for a profit). This holds especially true when the amount of data collected by the government pales in comparison to the volumes collected by corporations. The hypocrisy is made downright ironic due to the widely known fact that corporations and their data are subject to subpoena. If you have committed acts worthy of any government’s time and attention, crying foul about their means of gathering evidence will not negate the fact that there is evidence.

So how do we move forward and negate the effects of data collection from either side?

  1. The biggest thing to realize is that the internet is public. It doesn’t matter that you use a username and a password to access something on the internet; it’s still on the internet. This hold especially true for social media and any services that rely on user information to generate a response (think Google). Those embarrassing photos on Flickr didn’t disappear when you stopped using it, or even when you closed your account. They remained on a server, and on the backup of that server, and on the server and backups of any email/website that they were sent to. People are finding out about this pretty quickly during job interviews when things that they have said or posted years ago are brought into question.
  2. Take control over what data you provide to companies. Simply because a website forces you to provide name, phone number, etc. to create an account with them does not mean you have to provide accurate Remember, any information you provide a company can and WILL be shared by that company either internally or externally. Act accordingly.
  3. Be consistent and persistent in fighting for what is left of privacy in the age of corporate spying. If you don’t want the government doing it, you most certainly don’t want a corporation doing it either. When you speak out about government data collection, don’t let businesses off the hook either.
  4. Use a VPN. This masks your IP address, and if you use an encrypted VPN, it blocks your web traffic from prying eyes (and ISPs).
  5. Delete cookies after every browsing session. This can be done within the settings of your web browser, and most have an option to automatically do it when you close your browser. This can be a pain for some people, so you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of having to perform extra security steps with sites like Facebook and most banking websites against how much privacy you want.

In the end, it’s all about what you’re willing to accept and what you’re willing to sacrifice. Just make sure to take advantage of the opportunity to make it your choice while the opportunity exists.