Today, Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, will be testifying before the US House of Representatives, in a hearing entitled: "
Transparency & Accountability: Examining Google and its Data Collection, Use and Filtering Practices".
We live in the Information Age, the era of Big Data. A massive industry has developed around the principles of personal data mining and resale.
Our data is used by entities, typically unknown to us, to target commercial advertisements, news stories, and political assertions. Most people are not even aware that they are being mined, happily clicking through Facebook & Google, marveling at the economy of MoviePass membership, etc.
The Equifax breach and the Cambridge Analytica scandal are two recent, highly publicized (MSM) events, and there are countless instances of personal data being compromised by poor information security and by loose privacy protections.
As electronic networks become increasingly ubiquitous and vital to everyday living (consider the
Internet of Things), these issues of information security and privacy will become increasingly pressing, and at present our society appears to be ill-equipped to respond.
What should be the extent (if any) of government involvement in this area? How best can we address these issues, in terms of effectiveness and propriety?
Last edited by iamnotawerewolf; 12-11-2018 at 10:38 AM.