One of the characteristics of cyberpunk fiction is the massive datasphere owned and controlled by mega corporations. Unfortunately, this is one of the characteristics our world shares with cyberpunk fiction. If you need an example of this, just look at Google, a massively popular search engine that not only logs and stores all user searches, but links those searches to a user profile. Google likely knows the average person better than that person knows himself. And Google is but one company out of thousands of mega-corporations that all want a piece of the pie, which is a large chunk of the average person, his data, and his life.
Have you ever considered how much your information is worth? What’s your birthdate, interests, gender, browsing information, marital status, home ownership status worth? According to this site, all of my data is only worth around $0.30. Doesn’t seem like a lot, does it? That’s because it isn’t. Kind of insulting, really. However, when this information is sold, it is sold in bundles of 1,000. That is, the information from 1000 consumers is bundled up and bought by a business. In my case, the bundle would be worth around $300. That’s quite a bit more, isn’t it? However, what happens when a company like Facebook takes information from millions of its users, bundles it up, and sells it off? Those bundles of information are worth millions, if not billions of dollars. And all it took to get that information is a simple request by Facebook, which most people are happy to oblige. But, hey, when your birthday draws near, Facebook sends a notification to all of your friends just in case they cared to know.
Now, a Facebook user might say:
Who cares if Facebook is making all that money off my info? It’s not hurting me.
But is that true? Are there no consequences to having your data sold off to the highest bidder? Perhaps there really isn’t any consequence outside of a more targeted advertisement stream. But, I’m not so hopeful. Information is the most valuable commodity on the planet. A birthdate, an interest, a dream, a life goal, a hobby, a marriage status all command a price higher than $0.30. Remember that datasphere I mentioned earlier? Most of the people on this little blue marble of ours are a number within that datasphere. All of their information is retrievable for any purpose, by the powers that be. Your whole identity is stored in some database, somewhere. And it probably was sold at a $0.30 bargain.
Again, why worry? I’m not a fan of hysteria. I think all fear should be backed by a reasonable amount of evidence and logic. Is this something worth worrying about? I think it is. Every piece of data on me, from my grade school years to my years of higher education and beyond, is stored in some warehouse database and can be retrieved with a few keystrokes. I don’t think I need to say much more. I don’t think I can say much more. I’m a number within a database, along with the other billions of numbers. And I have absolutely no control over that. I just have to accept it. But what could possibly be done with this information?
The first thought that comes to mind is targeted advertising. Companies would use that information to sell me a car or a house or maybe a few friends. A second use for that information would be to predict my actions in the future, should some higher-up politico care about my future actions. A third use would be to use the data to convict me of some crime. Maybe I violated some obscure law while browsing the web and, now that I got on someone’s bad side, they want to use that law to punish me. A fourth use would be to aid in any investigations of my person. Maybe someone would like a little more information about me, for whatever reason. All they would have to do is tap into the datasphere to retrieve it. Come to think of it, so much could be done with that little bit of information. If I’ve lost you, I’m just trying to rationalize my paranoia. Pay no mind. But pay no mind at your own risk. There is plenty to worry about, but we aren’t completely helpless either.
There are people out there who recognize this problem and who are taking steps to obviate it. DataArbitrage is the first program that comes to mind, and there are others. Additionally, there are steps you can take to, partially, free yourself from the datasphere. At this time, I’ve written two posts on the subject. Give them a look.
Don’t be just another number in some database, somewhere. Protect your identity and help others protect their own identities.
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