Read the following discussion and give your response:

Many smart phones come equipped with GPS technology and phone companies and other entities indiscriminately monitor the movement of private individual via their phones. This monitoring is done without a warrant issued by an appropriate member of the judicial system. How does this use of GPS technology violate the five principles for privacy set forth by the Federal Trade Commission?

The gathering of information using GPS technology violates many of the FTC's 5 principles for privacy either flat our or at very least in a subtle way. I don't have a copy of my contract nor can I remember, but I would imagine all this is in the small print that anyone without a law degree couldn't differentiate. I am assuming their is awareness, but I would argue it isn't "easily understood". Choice is a joke. Sure we have the choice to accept the terms, but if we don't we can't have the service. That is more like blackmail than choice. If there is a way to access what information they are collecting, I am not aware of it other than all the adds that pop up at places I frequently visit. Once again, if it doesn't violate that principle, they sure do make it hard to access the records. Security is the biggest issue I have with it. I don't care if a computer program that isn't human can figure out trends and automatically populate results. What scares me is that someone will hack into that system and pull my information to use in a fraudulent way. And with a lot of major companies having been hacked in the last year or two, no "security" policy would make me comfortable. The enforcement principle falls in line with the awareness and access principles in this case. If they are available, I have no idea where other than maybe in the small print that no one really reads.

All in all I personally don't mind all the new data collecting methods for marketing. I know that these are computer programs, not people spying. I firmly believe the government or anyone else really doesn't have an interest in knowing everything about me. I realize I am nothing more than data to these people. What I have a problem with are twofold. I hate anything that is a "choice", but not really a choice. I can't have a smartphone unless I sign off on all this other crap. To me that is terribly unethical. It is blackmail. The other thing that I can't stand is the security. The hackers out there can seemingly infiltrate whatever system they want to, whenever they want to. What they will do with the information is anyones guess. That scares me and I don't like that at all. I don't trust anyones security right now. I personally have had to have my debit card replaced 3 times in the last 18 months because places I used it at were hacked.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

I agree with the answer since it really covers all the five principl... View the full answer