Tracking Everyone, All The Time

from the you-have-no-privacy-anywhere dept

Privacy? What's that? While a bunch of companies have been advertising systems to let people track their children at all times, now the companies that pitch such offerings are expanding them, saying that you should also be spying on your employees - because, apparently, trust is some obsolete concept from the last millennium. While the systems discussed in this article all triangulate to locate your mobile phone via which cell towers you're closest to, here's another article talking about the rise of tracking by satellite. It won't be long before you can't go anywhere without someone being able to check in on where you are. Are there benefits to being able to log into a web page and see where your children or employees are at any point in time? Sure. However, there are also the "unintended consequences" of making them feel watched all the time. Cultivating a culture where trust plays no part probably isn't particularly healthy.
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  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 27 Nov 2003 @ 3:08am

    life in the non-trackable niche

    Ever wondered why and how ebay got so big so quickly? It's pretty had to track a money order. I wonder what would happen if ebay started sharing info with the IRS on a regular basis.

    Drive a motorcycle, use an international driver's license, all transactions in cash only, maintain an off-shore banking account registered to a company incorporated in a jurisdiction that still repsects privacy... remaining untracked is possible; it's just not feasable for 99% of the population... and that's the way I like it.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    alternatives, 28 Nov 2003 @ 2:56pm

    Trust? Ha!

    Cultivating a culture where trust plays no part probably isn't particularly healthy.

    Consider the "joke" "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."

    Why is it funny? The "lack" of trust is a big part of why that is considered a funny joke.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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