“The challenges to our privacy do not come from government alone. Corporations of all shapes and sizes track what you buy, store and analyze our data, and use it for commercial purposes; that’s how those targeted ads pop up on your computer or smartphone.” President Obama, January 2014

That comment is directed squarely at Google, Facebook and others, who as far as I am concerned, when it comes to privacy are essentially the other side of the same coin. A lot of talk about privacy from Silicon Valley titans is mostly talk — and the only reason we hear some polite noises from them is because they might end up losing business in non-US markets. Check out this profile of President Barack Obama in The New Yorker. I think Editor David Remnick went easy on the president, but still it is great writing.

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2 thoughts on “Google, Facebook, NSA, & Privacy”

  1. Have you heard about the ‘Google Contacts’? The company claims it will be ‘helpful’ for diabetics to help maintain their disease:

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25771907

    … I call BS on Googles explanation of what smart contacts will be used for, and it ain’t because Google cares for the folks who suffer from diabetes. We don’t even know if Google Glasses cause cancer, nor do we know the true facts on if cell phones are causing tumors.

    Military will always have this technology before the public, but the public is the one who gets to experience the long-term effects. It’s all just one big experiment.

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