Following the loud clash between Apple and the FBI, government forces and privacy experts started debating whether the wiretapping law should be modernized or not. The FBI is very clear about the situation, claiming that wiretapping your smartphone isn’t different from doing the same for a normal phone. And that they would only resort to this to prevent terrorists from assaulting civilians. But is the case really black and white? “No” say the advocates of online privacy, stating that exploiting modern technology would lead to catastrophic results.
As we already reported, the tides are shifting around issue of online privacy rights. Things got heated when Apple refused to let the FBI have a backdoor access to one of their iPhone 5 devices, just because they intended to gather info on a terrorist. Several companies – like Google, Facebook and most VPN providers – aligned themselves with Apple. But the situation doesn’t look very rosy-cheeky for them, as even the president of the U.S. is supporting the idea of backdoor surveillance. “Going Dark”, the epithet of the ability to encrypt or hide your Internet activity (using VPN or accessing the Shadow Web via Tor), was always a thorn under the government’s nail. They also see internet providers as conduits for suspicious activities. That’s why the FBI has come up with a new law that inflicts a heavy fine on any internet provider that doesn’t provide backdoor accessfor them to eavesdrop on whoever they want. And according to Obama’s administration officials, the president will more than likely side with this plan.
Not everyone agrees with the government about the supposed ransoming of internet providers. Security experts speculate that despite the backdoor access isn’t mandatory, most providers will do it just because they fear the consequences. Charging $25,000 for disregarding the FBI’s demand is quite the heavy fine that could break most companies on the longer run. But even if you argue about the necessity of the backdoor access by stating that it helps identifying and catching criminals, you should be aware of the fact that eavesdropping on your internet activity provides much more information than you might think.
When it comes to the issue of wiretapping, people still visualize old spy movies where people are overhearing private conversations over the landline phone. But in recent years, smartphones have become part of our lives. They have access to internet all the time, and they log EVERYTHING. It would not only reveal your private calls, but also your past and present location (thanks to the GPS), full browsing history, online purchases, plans, contacts, email messages, social media relationships etc.
This goes beyond the limits of federal supervision, as they would acquire information about your entire life, and not just one particular conversation. Unless you protect your right to anonymity and privacy, you become completely transparent before the ever-watching Orwellian eye.
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