Supressing opposition

There is much to be learned by all of us in the wake of the data collection scandal. As consumers we have been sloppy and complacent. We have bought convenience with our privacy.

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Never again should we simply sign a user agreement without reading it and we should never sign one we don't understand and agree with. This likely will severely limit our available options. But if everyone stops giving carte blanche permission to any one and everyone to mine and use our data then things will change out of necessity. We have made it far to easy to gather data on us. It has been a call to attention to discover that not only was Google telling other vendors our style choices, movie preferences, and favorite authors, they were giving the government that information. We knew that phone records could be subpoenaed if there were allegations against us or someone with whom we communicated by phone, but we did not know that those records were given up where no crime was suspected. We knew that our email could be hacked by thrill seekers, bored teens and thieves, we did not know that the internet providers simply handed them over to the NSA. Well, now we know. For some, the trail is laid, the supposedly incriminating communications are recorded, the emails are noted. Make no mistake, a government which seeks to suppress opposition can and will use the million square feet of data to build a case where none exists. Jean Arcamone Englewood, FL

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