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Julie Moriarty
01-15-2019, 12:28 PM
The TV remote has a live mic. Our smartphones have live mics. Our computers have live mics, and live cams. And then there's inviting Alexa, or whatever device one chooses, into your home.

Why do I keep thinking of Big Brother?

Kev Williams
01-15-2019, 12:39 PM
Why indeed. And YES it bothers me, infuriates me actually-- to be standing in the kitchen talking about dinner and how a bigger soup pot would be nice and to have the wife's iphone immediately pop up an ad for a soup pot--that's un-nerving, wrong and just plain BS. Invasion of privacy isn't near a strong enough description.

Julie Moriarty
01-15-2019, 1:10 PM
I went to the orthopedic surgeon for problems with my knee. She diagnosed arthritis and suggested a knee brace for more strenuous activities. They supply it and insurance pays for it. I rarely use my phone for Internet searches and never for social media. And I never even talked about needing a knee brace let alone doing a web search for one. The next time I did a web search, there was a pop up for a knee brace. So they knew I was at a building where orthopedic surgeons have their offices because I had my phone with me. But how did they know about the knee brace?

Frederick Skelly
01-15-2019, 1:19 PM
Yes. It bothers me too.
Yesterday, I couldnt take a picture with my tablet until I enabled the mike.
Yup. Somebody wants to snoop.

Brian Henderson
01-15-2019, 2:34 PM
I won't do it. I refuse to have anything listening to me or watching me. Those things do not enter my home, ever.

lowell holmes
01-15-2019, 3:21 PM
Alexa is in the kitchen and only hears what we want it to hear.
All the phones are off at night, I am careful to turn my cell phone off when not using it.

Prashun Patel
01-15-2019, 3:31 PM
Yes, I hate microphones in my house, but I'd never say that aloud...

David Bassett
01-15-2019, 3:35 PM
Yes, I hate microphones in my house, but I'd never say that aloud...

No worries. They read your postings too! :)

Roger Feeley
01-15-2019, 4:05 PM
We have an Amazon Tap where you have to push a button to talk. At least I hope it's not listening when I don't push the button...
Alexa creeps me out.

Frank Pratt
01-15-2019, 4:10 PM
The other day I saw an Amazon Echo device that had an old school desk phone housing. The only time the mic is connected is when the handset is lifted.

Mike Circo
01-15-2019, 4:38 PM
The other day I saw an Amazon Echo device that had an old school desk phone housing. The only time the mic is connected is when the handset is lifted.

Actually, all the Amazon Echo devices have a button on the top to disable the microphone. If you are paranoid or have a visit from a friend named Alexa, use it.

Ron Citerone
01-15-2019, 4:40 PM
Just cuz your paranoid, it doesn't mean they are not out to get you!!!!!!

My "Dot" turns on plays music when my daughter 50 miles away says things. Yes it bother's me!!!

Not real thrilled about that little camera staring at me from the top of my lap top either.

Frederick Skelly
01-15-2019, 4:46 PM
Just cuz your paranoid, it doesn't mean they are not out to get you!!!!!!

My "Dot" turns on plays music when my daughter 50 miles away says things. Yes it bother's me!!!

Not real thrilled about that little camera staring at me from the top of my lap top either.

Ron, cover the camera on the laptop with blue painter's tape. That's what I did.
Fred

Ron Citerone
01-15-2019, 4:48 PM
Ron, cover the camera on the laptop with blue painter's tape. That's what I did.
Fred

Good idea, will do.

Edwin Santos
01-15-2019, 5:36 PM
Just wait until cameras and real-time face recognition technology are tracking your movements everywhere you go. We're not too far away from an Orwellian world of general surveillance.
The tug of war seems to be the opportunity for crime prevention and security on one side versus the right to privacy on the other.
We have all cooperated with a comprehensive database of our photographs linked to our identities when we each obtained or renewed our driver's licenses and passports. Speaking of driver's licenses, our late model cars are listening to us and tracking our movements too.

I think it is possible to avoid most of this surveillance, but over time you will have to work harder and harder at it to the point where resistance may just become futile.

Mike Henderson
01-15-2019, 5:53 PM
I don't have any problem with cameras and recognition equipment used in public spaces. So equipment on a police car that reads license plates and automatically checks for warrants and stolen cars is fine with me. I don't have a problem with the data from those license scans being kept. If a crime is reported, that data can shed light on who was in the area when the crime was committed. Someone who is having an affair might not like that data getting to his/her spouse so access to that data should be controlled, perhaps with a court order.

Cameras in public spaces that can do face recognition is also fine with me. When I go out in public, I don't have any problem with being photographed. Those cameras can photograph criminal acts and deter those who might commit those acts. Again, access to that data should be controlled.

Cell phone cameras have brought a lot of "light" to acts that would have gone unpunished or unreported in the past. Look at the Rodney King beating that was videotaped. The cops would likely have said that he fell down while trying to escape.

If you're being tracked by your cell phone, it's likely because you allowed location tracking for one or more of your applications, even when you're not actively using the app. If you have Alexa in your home, it's because you brought it there.

Mike

Chris Parks
01-15-2019, 8:20 PM
You don't have to use a Smartphone, there are dumb phones that only do minimal stuff like texts and voice calls or just turn the data off, that stops everything dead. A phone is for talking on in my life, nothing more or less. I love technology but I absolutely refuse to have a Smartphone or join social media. As a for instance I am about to build a router table fully digitised to illustrate my view on technology but eschewing Smart phones and social media has meant I see none of the stuff spoken of here. If you don't take the steps to stop it then I can't see why you would complain.

Frederick Skelly
01-15-2019, 8:45 PM
I love technology but I absolutely refuse to have a Smartphone or join social media.

Ummmm, Chris? SMC and similar sites are forms of social media. :) ;) :)
(It's the only form of social media that I participate in though. No FB for me.)

Chris Parks
01-15-2019, 8:56 PM
Yes you are right Fred but I regard social media as the Facebooks of the internet not forums which pre dated what we now regard as social media. I do take your point though.

Edwin Santos
01-15-2019, 9:13 PM
You don't have to use a Smartphone, there are dumb phones that only do minimal stuff like texts and voice calls or just turn the data off, that stops everything dead. A phone is for talking on in my life, nothing more or less. I love technology but I absolutely refuse to have a Smartphone or join social media. As a for instance I am about to build a router table fully digitised to illustrate my view on technology but eschewing Smart phones and social media has meant I see none of the stuff spoken of here. If you don't take the steps to stop it then I can't see why you would complain.

You're right, but with an iPhone you don't even need to turn data off. You can go to Settings/Privacy/Location Services and turn off GPS. You're also right that you can take steps to keep certain kinds of technology out of your life. But I think it might become harder and harder to do so in some areas. As it sits today, the selection of non-smartphones is ever dwindling. At some point you could imagine that it won't be worth the manufacturer's time to offer them anymore and they will just become obsolete. At that point your choice might be a smartphone or no phone.

Mike Cutler
01-15-2019, 10:22 PM
Julie
We try not to keep any of that invasive technology enabled on our devices. It's a losing battle though.
Sometimes I use it to my advantage also.
If I want to research something like say, shaper cutters. I'll google it once, log onto some site like, daily mail, and let their advertising search engines do the work for me. I used to use Facebook, because no other site was as invasive as FB. They have an incredible search engine. I've been off FB for over a year now.

Bill Dufour
01-15-2019, 11:01 PM
What i hate is the way the shortend mike to Mic. Actually I have red hair but I have never lived with a person from Ireland.
Bill D

Curt Harms
01-16-2019, 7:34 AM
Julie
We try not to keep any of that invasive technology enabled on our devices. It's a losing battle though.
Sometimes I use it to my advantage also.
If I want to research something like say, shaper cutters. I'll google it once, log onto some site like, daily mail, and let their advertising search engines do the work for me. I used to use Facebook, because no other site was as invasive as FB. They have an incredible search engine. I've been off FB for over a year now.

Google probably has the most expertise at "connecting the dots" in a person's life. There are competent search engines that still respect one's privacy. Duck Duck Go and startpage.com are two. I use Firefox as my primary browser and have the NoScript add-on. It was 'enlightening' to me after installing NoScript to go to a site like ESPN.com and see how many sites want to run scripts, there are at least two dozen that we would not normally know about. Some of those - not all - collect personal data. Google, gstatic and other google related sites want to run scripts on most sites and some sites are not fully functional without gstatic enabled. It's no surprise that "google knows all".

Lee Schierer
01-16-2019, 8:39 AM
Why do I keep thinking of Big Brother?

I wish you would speak up, it is hard for all of us to hear you.

Steve Rozmiarek
01-16-2019, 8:41 AM
I had a particularly annoying issue related to this subject lately with facebook. A couple weeks ago an ad showed up there for some software that looked interesting, so I clicked on the ad to go to the website. Not what I thought it was, so I left. Later in the day, I get a call from the software companies sales department. I use another of their products so it didn't register how they got the lead, until a week later the same thing happened again with a different company. I never asked for info, just clicked through to their website, and they called my mobile number to "make sure I found the information I wanted". I posted an ad on facebook a few months back and the we're promoting their ability to generate leads. I guess this is how they do it. Sleazy.

As for the open mics question, no I won't have them. I've nothing to hide, but I do have the right to privacy, and I find this type of marketing to be an invasion of that.

Question for you guys that are ok with this for the sake of security, what if the cameras catch you breaking a law you didn't even know existed? There are so many, I'll bet we all break one periodically. Add an ideological enemy in control of the camera, and you just became a criminal. Don't commit a crime? With all the data, it'd be simple to make anyone appear to be a criminal with a little selective editing. Pretty easy to go full Orwell from there...

John K Jordan
01-16-2019, 8:45 AM
Ron, cover the camera on the laptop with blue painter's tape. That's what I did.
Fred

Black tape blends in better with my the black bezel on my laptop.

Leo Graywacz
01-16-2019, 8:45 AM
The other day I saw an Amazon Echo device that had an old school desk phone housing. The only time the mic is connected is when the handset is lifted.

And you believe that?

I hate having all the microphones and cameras everywhere you go. There is no privacy anymore. It has for the most part become non-existent.

Frederick Skelly
01-16-2019, 9:04 AM
Black tape blends in better with my the black bezel on my laptop.

I just use a black marker on the blue tape. :)

glenn bradley
01-16-2019, 9:25 AM
I too am of the Orwellian mindset. Makes me good at my job ;-) Having been in data communications since computers were too big to carry I have gotten to watch industry, and then the public, become aware of just what computer networking can do . . . and the risks.

Because of my 'inside' view I am a bit over the top when compared to most computer users. Until recently, my passwords pushed the limits of security mechanisms for length and complexity, I don't answer unrecognized cell phone calls, I do not accept random email unfiltered. I tape over unused cameras, disconnect microphones and am a card carrying member of the Air-Gap-is-your-Best-Security alliance.

Seriously, computer and network security often comes way too late. If you use Facebook, you have little to worry about, you're already "out there". If you do not closely control your location services on your phone and car, you're "out there". Participating only in specific social networking like bulletin boards and targeted forums reduces your exposure profile but, you're still "out there".

We have grown a good couple of generations of humans who will automatically agree to anything to get to the next level of Candy Crush, get to that website or whatever. Know your exposure, use your head, no one gives products away; you are giving them something for agreeing to use their product. Yes that includes the free email you have been using since the 90's.

Hang on a minute . . . someone's at the door . . . It's the Thought Police!!!

Leo Graywacz
01-16-2019, 9:58 AM
Google probably has the most expertise at "connecting the dots" in a person's life. There are competent search engines that still respect one's privacy. Duck Duck Go and startpage.com are two. I use Firefox as my primary browser and have the NoScript add-on. It was 'enlightening' to me after installing NoScript to go to a site like ESPN.com and see how many sites want to run scripts, there are at least two dozen that we would not normally know about. Some of those - not all - collect personal data. Google, gstatic and other google related sites want to run scripts on most sites and some sites are not fully functional without gstatic enabled. It's no surprise that "google knows all".

I've run NoScript for years now. And running it is a chore. Most sites won't run correctly without some scripts running and sometimes you have to choose between letting them run or leaving the site. I've been saved by NoScript at least once that I know of from a pretty bad virus that made it through the advertising feeds on another site. Many people had big troubles and some lost computers and had to start fresh because of it. I never even knew it was there because I was protected.

Leo Graywacz
01-16-2019, 10:04 AM
Black tape blends in better with my the black bezel on my laptop.

I've turned my microphone and camera off in the BIOS. Pretty sure it can't be activated unless allowed in the BIOS. But I've searched and not found a definite answer. You would have to go through a boot cycle to reinitialize the BIOS with new settings. And if my computer did an unrequested boot I'd be suspicious. I check on it every once in a while to make sure the settings are off. I've checked with online sites that activate the camera and microphone to test them and they say those devices do not exist on my system. So I'm pretty confident they are non accessible from the outside world.

My phone on the other hand is on 24/7. And even if not on it is still powered and I've been told the microphone can be activated even with the phone in the off condition. I can no longer remove my battery so it can never be off off off. Best you can do is put it into a Faraday bag and put it into a box.

Stan Calow
01-16-2019, 10:47 AM
Anyone ever have Siri on your phone turn on by accident? I had phone in pants pocket once, when Siri scolded me " Stan, watch your language!".

I did some research for a class, on the legal use of license plate readers. There's actually a lot of academic research papers on the subject. I learned that the main users of this technology are auto repo services and debt collectors. They like to cruise the parking lot at Wal-marts, looking for plates of people they're looking for. Not making that up.

Pat Barry
01-16-2019, 10:47 AM
The TV remote has a live mic. Our smartphones have live mics. Our computers have live mics, and live cams. And then there's inviting Alexa, or whatever device one chooses, into your home.

Why do I keep thinking of Big Brother?

No. I don't worry about like this.

Edwin Santos
01-16-2019, 1:24 PM
Cell phone cameras have brought a lot of "light" to acts that would have gone unpunished or unreported in the past. Look at the Rodney King beating that was videotaped. The cops would likely have said that he fell down while trying to escape.

Mike




Question for you guys that are ok with this for the sake of security, what if the cameras catch you breaking a law you didn't even know existed? There are so many, I'll bet we all break one periodically. Add an ideological enemy in control of the camera, and you just became a criminal. Don't commit a crime? With all the data, it'd be simple to make anyone appear to be a criminal with a little selective editing. Pretty easy to go full Orwell from there...

I can see both sides of the argument. Yes, there's a general attitude that more security is always better. However the Rodney King example makes a separate point that Mike may not have intended - that is, that police power can be abused.
If surveillance and other types of technology eventually become a near inescapable blanket of power in the name of security and crime fighting, history teaches us that it can be abused by those in control of it, if they are not held in check in some way.
I guess it's each person's decision as to where they might balance the desire for security against their personal freedoms and rights.

Kev Williams
01-16-2019, 2:13 PM
Re: turning off your GPS app... all that does is stop YOU from knowing where your phone is/has been. Doesn't stop others- The ONLY way to keep ANY cell phone, smart or not, from being tracked is to remove its battery. Just turning off older phones may be sufficient, but not the newer ones. That microphone thing, among others...

Re: social media ie FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc... Pretty much the root of all evil IMO. We have a DIL that hasn't spoken to us for 2 years over pics my stepson put on FB from a 'family' lunch gathering at Golden Corral. She posted up how it was "a slap in the face' that SHE wasn't invited. She didn't even bother to notice the family members were all my wife's family, not mine/hers. My one and only FB post was explaining exactly what I thought about that slap in the face. How dare I?

Jim Koepke
01-16-2019, 4:26 PM
So they knew I was at a building where orthopedic surgeons have their offices because I had my phone with me. But how did they know about the knee brace?

Was there a credit card involved?

My wife does a lot of internet shopping using her iPad. The ads popping up on my screen seem to reflect what she has been purchasing.

jtk

Bill Jobe
01-16-2019, 4:27 PM
Anyone ever have Siri on your phone turn on by accident? I had phone in pants pocket once, when Siri scolded me " Stan, watch your language!".


Then tell it to stop turning on vibrate mode.

Neil Gaskin
01-16-2019, 8:35 PM
I avoid this at all cost. No smart home devices welcome. I turn the mics off of the phones. It’s impossible to avoid all of it but I welcome none of it.

Marty Gulseth
01-16-2019, 8:39 PM
Yep, absolutely. And I’ll wager a small amount that I have not even thought of all of them.

Chris Parks
01-16-2019, 10:29 PM
I don't think it is impossible to avoid this stuff but do you want to as to do so takes away convenience that we have grown accustomed to. I was given one of the Amazon speaker things and I have never plugged it in as I doubt it would make my life easier so why bother. I have a mobile phone which is on a $10 a year plan and I never use it all, the thing sits buried in my car in case I need it for an emergency. It has taken some years to convince family and friends that it is a waste of time ringing me on it as I simply do not answer it unless I happen to be in the car when it rings. My personal hatred of mobile phones grew out of my last job before I retired, I carried two for work and my personal phone and that put me off them for life.

Steve Demuth
01-16-2019, 11:08 PM
I have an Amazon Echo given me by my family for Christmas a couple years back in my shop. I use it to listen to books on tape and music. The voice control is handy when it works - I can easily pause a book when I am going to turn on a machine, and resume it when I go back to hand work. That's all I use it for, other than maybe occasionally asking it what time it is. It also provides occasional random amusement. Sounds in the shop will occassionally trigger it to let me know it doesn't understand what I'm asking, and when I'm listening it not infrequently hears it's own voice as a trigger (mine responds to "computer" rather than "Alexa") and then tries to answer itself. I should start a list of the definitions it's looked up and read for me. Since I'm always by myself in my shop, and I don't talk to myself, the device leads a boring life.

I also have an Amazon Dot and a Google Home device I've been given by various people. They are still new in the box - never unpacked them. I won't have one in my home. Have also disabled the mic and location services on all my phone apps. I turn them on if I have use for them (hardly ever for the mic, other than the actual phone use of it, when I need directions for location).

I also have real concerns about phone-mic applications in the workplace. More than one conversation about Google at work has been interrupted by a colleagues smart phone chiming in, when it detected the Google Assistant trigger word. I know we don't want our confidential and patient conversations being listened to by such apps casually left on, or criminal hacks on somebody's phone.

That said, we're building medical voice applications for both the Google and Amazon devices at work. There is significant demand for them from our patients, and I know many older patients who find the idea of being able tell Alexa to "call <insert child's name>" or "call 911" if they fall or injure themselves a real comfort. There are reasons to make this work.

Ultimately we need much better privacy regulation so that any non-intended (that is, non-opt-in) use of the data scanned by such devices is strictly forbidden.

Julie Moriarty
01-17-2019, 5:58 PM
I wish you would speak up, it is hard for all of us to hear you.

Sorry, I had my thumb on the mic.

Ron Citerone
01-17-2019, 6:54 PM
When planning a huge bank heist, I always speak in Pig Latin. ;)

Curt Harms
01-18-2019, 6:21 AM
Black tape blends in better with my the black bezel on my laptop.

Put a bit of paper directly over the camera and black tape over that. Putting tape directly on the camera could leave adhesive on the tiny lens which may not matter until someone wants to use the camera.

Bill Jobe
01-18-2019, 10:59 AM
Since I'm always by myself in my shop, and I don't talk to myself, the device leads a boring life.
.

It needs a hobby, a paper route,....something.....

Bob Glenn
01-18-2019, 11:40 AM
The daughter and her husband were in a Verison store and left when they didn't get waited on. They later called Verison and they said, I see you were in one of our stores earlier today. They didn't use their phones while they were there.

Doug Garson
01-18-2019, 2:20 PM
The daughter and her husband were in a Verison store and left when they didn't get waited on. They later called Verison and they said, I see you were in one of our stores earlier today. They didn't use their phones while they were there.
My guess would be that they had wifi turned on and their phone auto connected to the store wifi. I walked out of a store once, can't recall which store it was, and as I got in the car I got a message asking me to rate my experience visiting the store.

Jesse Espe
01-18-2019, 2:34 PM
There was an article in the news yesterday regarding employees of Ring (an Amazon company) accessing video of people's homes without their knowledge or permission.

The paranoia doesn't belong to just Big Brother anymore.

It's the megacompanies trying to take targeted advertising to a level on par with that shown in the movie, "Minority Report".

Gary Ragatz
01-18-2019, 3:44 PM
I need to have my eyeglass prescription checked - came in here to suggest that at least live mice don't smell as bad as dead ones!

Chuck Wintle
01-19-2019, 8:01 AM
The TV remote has a live mic. Our smartphones have live mics. Our computers have live mics, and live cams. And then there's inviting Alexa, or whatever device one chooses, into your home.

Why do I keep thinking of Big Brother?

it really bothers me that ones privacy can be compromised so easily, mics, smartphones etc and we are not concerned enough to stop it. It is big brother and George Orwell was cognizant enough of the loss of privacy to write a book. What makes me shake my head are individuals who say don't care their privacy is being invaded.

Leo Graywacz
01-19-2019, 10:06 AM
They'll care when it comes back and bites them in the butt. They may have a hard time figuring out how something was found out because they are so nonchalant with the technology.

Peter Christensen
01-19-2019, 10:08 AM
Maybe those of you with home security and automation systems should watch this episode of a show here in Canada called Marketplace.

https://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/episodes/2017-2018/home-hack-how-safe-are-your-high-tech-security-devices

Brian Henderson
01-19-2019, 2:47 PM
The daughter and her husband were in a Verison store and left when they didn't get waited on. They later called Verison and they said, I see you were in one of our stores earlier today. They didn't use their phones while they were there.

It doesn't matter. If they have phones at all, their GPS is tracked. I get notifications on my phone every day "Rate your visit to wherever". You are being tracked everywhere you go.

Curt Harms
01-20-2019, 11:45 AM
Just so the "Off" switches really work.

Nicholas Lawrence
01-20-2019, 11:51 AM
Even if GPS is off you are likely being tracked. Article in the NYT a couple of weeks ago. They can tell very closely where you are based on the communications your phone has with cell towers. The phone companies apparently keep and sell that data.


It doesn't matter. If they have phones at all, their GPS is tracked. I get notifications on my phone every day "Rate your visit to wherever". You are being tracked everywhere you go.

Leo Graywacz
01-20-2019, 11:57 AM
Keep the GPS, Data, Wifi and bluetooth off all the time until you need it. That way the only thing they can track is by cell tower triangulation.

If you are on an Android go to you google preferences and turn off all the tracking.

And even if you do all of this they still track you by the apps you have in your phone. So apps lie and collect information in the background. Some apps leave traces behind when you uninstall them that report back to the mother ship.

I call my phone my govt tracker, for good reason.

Peter Kelly
01-20-2019, 1:04 PM
I've run NoScript for years now. And running it is a chore. Most sites won't run correctly without some scripts running and sometimes you have to choose between letting them run or leaving the site. I've been saved by NoScript at least once that I know of from a pretty bad virus that made it through the advertising feeds on another site. Many people had big troubles and some lost computers and had to start fresh because of it. I never even knew it was there because I was protected.Surreptitious crypto currency mining scripts like Coinhive (https://coinhive.com) are the latest thing to look out for and block. Some sites (eg: Salon.com) are will ask if it's ok to run a Bitcoin script in exchange for blocking ads, others aren't so transparent.

Brian Elfert
01-20-2019, 7:03 PM
Actually, all the Amazon Echo devices have a button on the top to disable the microphone. If you are paranoid or have a visit from a friend named Alexa, use it.

How do you know that the mute mutton really does anything?

Chris Parks
01-20-2019, 7:14 PM
Tell them you are going to blow up the Whitehouse, that should do it.:eek:

Lee Schierer
01-21-2019, 12:39 PM
Keep the GPS, Data, Wifi and bluetooth off all the time until you need it. That way the only thing they can track is by cell tower triangulation.

If you are on an Android go to you google preferences and turn off all the tracking.

And even if you do all of this they still track you by the apps you have in your phone. So apps lie and collect information in the background. Some apps leave traces behind when you uninstall them that report back to the mother ship.

I call my phone my govt tracker, for good reason.

That is just great until you need to locate your phone. There is no way to turn those feature on remotely if you lose your phone.

Pat Barry
01-21-2019, 1:25 PM
People shouldn't be so paranoid about new technology.

Roger Nair
01-21-2019, 1:48 PM
Voice command systems sound good except for the fact that google or amazon compile information that comes back as hints and suggestions for purchases and as the information of behind a lifetime of commercial massage and manipulation of the youngsters. I would like to nip it in the bud, let people go without until they decide what they want on a more needs based manner.

Steve Demuth
01-21-2019, 4:07 PM
People shouldn't be so paranoid about new technology.

As someone who works every day with cutting edge information technology companies, I respectfully disagree. I think Americans should be deeply suspicious of the technologies and the companies who operate them. The pressure to monetize these technologies by using them to manipulate people is profound, and accentuated by consumers' expectation that services be free or close to free.

I don't think the tech companies are (at least most of them) evil or deliberately malignant, but I know from evidence I've seen with my own eyes that they will use the data they collect in ways that are, whatever their intention, detrimental to individuals and society.