Month: February 2023

My first civic issues blog was more of an overview of how all the big tech companies are collecting tons of data on us and that there is a need for privacy rights. This blog will address a more specific issue within privacy rights: location tracking. We use apps on a daily basis like Apple and Google Maps, Snapchat and Instagram ask us for our location whenever we post something, and even shopping websites ask us for our location just to shop for goods. Do we ever wonder why they do it? We all mindlessly press accept terms and conditions and allow location services whenever we download an app without psychologically acknowledging that we are constantly being watched.

I always wondered how services like Google Maps were free to use because I never saw ads, yet they help me get to my destination and even provide traffic updates. I started to see that certain places would be at the top of the list for search suggestions, meaning a business would pay Google to promote it on their platforms, but that still did not justify all of the costs Google put in to make Google Maps what it is today. Then, after coming home from an amusement park, I got a notification from Google Maps asking to review my experience at the amusement park. I didn’t use the app the entire day, yet it knew I went there. That is when I learned that Google Maps uses the app to track your location at all times and sell that data to third parties. No wonder why I got so many ads for sporting goods after visiting Dick’s for only 15 minutes.

Not only does Google use your location to sell to third parties, they also use it for detecting traffic. All Android phones are constantly sending Google Maps their location whether or not they like it. Google uses that information to update traffic information, provide their users with alternative routes, along with updating their data logs of where each person has been going. 

Apple, on the other hand, claims that they don’t sell user data at all. While many of us get a suggested location whenever we get in the car and connect to Bluetooth, Apple only provides that as a service for our convenience, which we can turn off at any time. Apple is smart by doing this to show users they can be trusted with their information and data. Besides, they make enough money out of us anyways.

Social media companies are also tracking our location. On Facebook, you can check-in at a location to post to your feed and let everyone know you are there. On Instagram, you can post to your story or feed that you are at a nice restaurant or ballroom. On Snapchat, everyone I know posts to their story whenever they are on vacation or at a nice spot. Not only has it become a norm to post your location to your feed or story whenever you go somewhere nice, but these large social media companies are able to take full advantage of it. Once you check in or post your location, the companies are able to bombard you with location-based advertisements. 

If you go to a vacation spot, you’ll get advertisements for restaurants and excursions. Once you come back from vacation, you’ll get ads on package vacation deals to similar locations. There are two ways to look at this scenario. One is that we are getting all of these services for free, and all the companies are doing is providing us with personal and relevant advertisements. Similar to watching television, except the commercials are based on our interests and what we like to do. On the flip side, which is what many of us are scared of, is what happens with the data once it goes into the wrong hands. What if there is a data breach and someone is able to track my ip from my Instagram story post and then has access to all of my personal information? The possibilities are endless.

This is why we need the help of our government and legislation to ensure our data is safe and not placed in the wrong hands. Similar to how we need to have our cars inspected, companies’ cybersecurity measures need to be looked over so that they are in shape and run smoothly at all times and avoid the risk of data breaches. If our data stops getting in the wrong hands, we should be safe. For example, think of Tiktok and their link to the Chinese government. While everyone knows about the risk of using the app, many still use it. The U.S. government hasn’t done enough to certify that all Chinese government traces on the app have been removed. Else the app will be banned from the United States because, in reality, it isn’t benefiting any of us but moreover just another way for us to waste our time. 

In conclusion, we need to protect our privacy and be aware of how our personal data is used. We must decide whether giving up our security and privacy for the convenience of location-based services is actually worth it given all of the potential risks associated. While some businesses, like Apple, are transparent and say they don’t sell user data, there are others that might sell user data to other parties (or have connections with the Chinese government). It’s crucial that we carefully read the terms and conditions of any apps or websites we use before deciding what information to give them. Additionally, we must demand openness from these businesses regarding how they use our data and hold them accountable for any misuse of that data. The government must regulate and verify that companies are taking the necessary steps to protect user data, and consumers must become aware of privacy issues and take steps to protect their data. In the end, it is our responsibility to protect our privacy and take steps to keep our personal information safe and secure.

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I know I wrote about Tesla in my last passion blog, but I believe this feature that is in all Teslas is something very interesting to me and is revolutionizing the car community. The idea of self-driving cars was only in TV shows and people’s imaginations. Nowadays, many new cars come with some sort of cruise control along with some cars that have lane-keep assist. Yet, nobody talks about the company that was always ahead of the game in terms of self-driving cars: Tesla. Tesla introduced Tesla Autopilot in September of 2014 all cars they built since then included the Autopilot hardware. It was not until October of 2015, though, when they released all of the Autopilot features through a software update. That’s right, vehicle owners did not have to bring their car into the service center to get the update, they just had to let the car update overnight through wi-fi, similar to an iPhone software update.

The update combines the features of adaptive cruise control with Autosteer, a lane centering function designed to keep Tesla vehicles within painted lane lines. The update also included self-parking (both parallel and perpendicular), lane changes, and summon. Summon allows the vehicle owner to move the car forward and backward solely through the Tesla app. A common use would be having the car back itself out of a tight parking spot. Nobody has to get in the car, they just have to use the app. 

In October 2016, Tesla announced that all cars produced since then will have autopilot hardware with “full self-driving” capabilities. While they mentioned at the time it would still take a few more years before release, the car would be able to drive itself without any human intervention. In theory, a human wouldn’t even need to be in the car. 

Unfortunately, throughout this timeline, there were about five instances where a Tesla owner was on the road using the autopilot feature and they got into a fatal crash. Tesla was involved in a lot of lawsuits, but they kept mentioning that even though these crashes occurred, the chance of getting into a car crash while using Autopilot is still much lower than crashing with a human driving due to all of the sensors and cameras the car has along with the instant reaction time of technology. As a result, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Tesla issued a cease-and-desist letter to the seller of the “Autopilot buddy” product, a device that makes Tesla’s steering wheel sensors “think” that a driver’s hands are pulling on the wheel, allowing drivers to engage Autopilot without paying attention to the task of driving. 

In April 2019, Tesla held a press conference and Elon Musk talked about Tesla Robotaxis, where Tesla owners will be able to have their cars serve as robotaxis and profit from them. They also released a two minute time lapse video of a car driving by itself without any human intervention at all (see link below). 

While that hasn’t been released yet, now some Tesla owners are finally getting beta versions of the full self-driving software. The car is able to completely drive itself. Stop for traffic lights, make turns, park, make lane changes and overtake on highways, just about anything. The driver still has to pay close attention and touch the wheel every so often to confirm their attention, but the car is making a lot more progress. In the future, as long as government regulations allow it, we should expect to see Tesla robotaxis along with self-driving cars that have no humans inside. Tesla is a significant contributor to the self-driving cars revolution.

Video: https://youtu.be/tlThdr3O5Qo

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As mentioned in the introduction of Danny’s This I Believe speech, many of us use TikTok along with other social media apps on a daily basis. Social media has become an integral part of our lives, allowing us to connect with others, share information, and express themselves. However, as the use of social media has increased, so have concerns about privacy. We all signed up for these apps at a young age, yet I’m sure nobody ever read the terms and conditions but we all accepted them in order to create an account. Most (if not all) social media apps are tracking every single thing we are doing on their apps and are selling our data to third party sources. While these apps are free to use and mainly profit from selling our data, we deserve more rights in how our data is managed. While it is one thing for us to get advertisements and pop ups after liking a post on Instagram, it is not acceptable for a third party to use our data and find personal information (such as social security numbers or bank account information) without anybody’s consent. Social media users should have more privacy rights to protect their personal information and ensure that it is not misused by third parties.

Some of the most popular social media apps today are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. While these companies are committed to protecting users’ data, there have been many data breaches where the information gets into the wrong hands. Nowadays, there are CEOs like Mark Zuckerburg (CEO of Meta), who are in court testifying on whether or not what his companies are doing with users’ data is ethical. In fact, one year ago, Facebook had to pay a $90 million privacy lawsuit settlement due to tracking user activity on the internet (Bloomberg law). Yet, that did not stop them from tracking and selling data, they just had to find another method to do so.

TikTok is a newer social media platform that took off during the pandemic. Users are able to mindlessly scroll through and like short clips and videos. The difference between TikTok from other social media platforms is that its parent company, ByteDance, is based out of China. There have already been cases where the FBI posed a threat that TikTok is spying on Americans and government officials and even instances where Chinese officials used the app to spy on U.S. journalists (SocialMediaToday).

It’s not just social media companies that are tracking your every move. Larger tech companies like Amazon and Google are on the same page. Google Maps knows where you are going and gives you personal ads based on places you’ve visited and where you have shopped at. A personal anecdote I have is when I was in the kitchen talking with my parents, and I mentioned that I may want to get a Purple mattress since my mattress was getting old. Even though our conversation was in Hindi, I got ads for Purple mattresses on every website that I went to for the next two weeks. I thought it was my phone, but there was no sign of me looking it up in my history. I came to find out that Amazon Alexa heard us and sent that information to all of the third party advertising companies. At this rate, we shouldn’t be surprised if each of us get individual personalized ads when trying to watch television. 

I believe that social media users should have more privacy rights through legislation. This could include the right to control the personal information that is shared, the right to choose what data is used for advertising purposes, and the right to control the algorithms that determine what content is shown to them. Additionally, social media companies should be held accountable for protecting users’ data and ensuring that it is not misused. Data breaches happen way too often in large social media companies, and users’ data needs to be managed and secured in a more efficient and safe manner. I believe that a reason legislation has not been put in place already is due to the average age of people in Congress. Many of them are a bit too old for social media and don’t understand how all of the algorithms work, therefore it would be hard to create the legislation. I am optimistic, though, that within the next few generations our Congress will be more educated about social media and the proper legislation and bills will be put in place. I also believe that it should be easy to implement the legislation since there isn’t a right vs. left conflict in this scenario. Both sides agree that citizens’ data should not be put in the wrong hands, so once everyone in Congress is informed about it, the social media companies will finally get a rulebook that they have to follow with no workarounds.

An effort to halt severe data tracking is from Apple. Apple’s App Tracking Transparency allows you “to choose whether an app can track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites for the purposes of advertising or sharing with data brokers (Apple).” Apple released this update in IOS 14.5, which came out in April of 2021. Immediately after the update was released, apps like Instagram and Facebook asked their users not to turn on the feature in order to keep their apps free (see image below). On the other hand, I am not too sure what Apple does with their own users’ data, or if they do anything with it at all.

Social media is now an essential tool in people’s daily lives to communicate with one another, but it has also raised serious concerns about privacy. To ensure that users’ personal information and data is protected and not misused, social media users should have more privacy rights. These rights should include the ability to control which personal information that is shared, the right to choose what data is used for advertising, and the right to control the algorithms that determine what content is shown to them. Only then can social media be a safe and secure platform for everyone.

Works Cited:

Bloomberg Law – Product Log In. https://www.bloomberglaw.com/login?target=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberglaw.com%2Fbloomberglawnews%2Flitigation%2FXCDOM2F8000000%3Fbna_news_filter%3Dlitigation. Accessed 2 Feb. 2023.

“Facebook and Instagram Ask Users to Enable App Tracking in Order to Keep Services ‘Free of Charge.’” MacRumors, https://www.macrumors.com/2021/05/02/facebook-instagram-att-prompt-free-of-charge/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2023.

“If an App Asks to Track Your Activity.” Apple Support, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212025. Accessed 2 Feb. 2023.

“TikTok Faces US Ban After Discovery That Chinese Officials Had Used the App to Spy on US Journalists.” Social Media Today, https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/TikTok-Faces-US-Ban-Dut-to-Ongoing-Spying-Concerns/639464/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2023.