Big Brother Is Waiting

"It can't happen here." -- Sinclair Lewis
Ain't technology wunnerful. -- Pug Mahoney

   These days, it's not Big Brother watching citizens through government-installed  devices that see where people are, what they're doing, buying and selling, as well as listen to what they say to each other.
   Rather, corporations and hackers collect, monitor and resell to advertisers much personal information about those who use modern communication devices, which people themselves buy and on which they willingly post their sometimes intimate musings.
   How big a leap is it, then, for government agencies to tap into this trove of information about its citizens? Or, for that matter, to do the same about people of opposing nations?
   Such technology was not available in 1948, when George Orwell's novel, "1984," was published.
   But it is now.

   Recent news reports detailed the way wrist devices that track distance and pace of runners also track their location, and these devices transmit the information to a central computer, where it can be viewed and downloaded by the runners.
   But some of the runners were military, assigned to bases in the Middle East. It turns out that the central computer was tapped by hackers working for a foreign government, thus revealing the location of U.S. military bases.
   Similarly, consumers can connect to devices that respond to voice commands to show an array of used cars for sale, or to help select potential home repair contractors.
   Also, cell phones have evolved to become hand-held computers, video recorders and location trackers, which enable the communications company to spot where you are and who you're with, even when you have turned off the device.
   It seems the gadget remains connected to its corporate home even after its "owner" hits the "off" button.
   These "services" are then marketed to consumers as valuable convenience systems that provide instant access to the internet, no matter where  the consumer is.
   But while it's good that the gadget can help prevent a user from getting lost while traveling, or to turn on the lights and photograph an intruder when a person is not at home, it also tells corporate America where users are, where they are going, and what they are doing when they get there.
   It's also good that the device can alert emergency service personnel with specific location information when needed.
   All of that is okay, so long as the information stays within the corporate memory bank. But when the corporation shares that data with government, thus enabling official watchers to track citizens as they go about their normal activities, that may not be okay.
   Big Brother may already be watching and listening.