Privacy? What's That?

Congratulations people of Taiwan. We have survived the first month of the outbreak of COVID-19 and started to live like how others do in the world last year. We've talked about online learning, working from home, and the silver linings. Besides restrictions, there is one thing that we all have to adapt to, everything online.

Working, learning, shopping, applying, registering, and many more, things that we used to be able to choose to do online, we ought to do it now. Before there were telephones, people only needed to be careful not to be seen what they didn't want to. Then there was eavesdropping which collects your private messages; then there was satellite GPS which tracks personal locations. It's always a tool that we learn to love and which brings great convenience that backfires on us, isn't it? What's the latest game?

Now that most, if not all of us have turned into "screen junkies", you should know that this is exactly where information theft hides and it is more powerful than anything we have encountered; it is unavoidable. Who now doesn't own more than one carry-on device(i.e. smartphones, watches, and other gadgets), computer, and laptop where they live? Um... those who are underground?

Concerns on cybersecurity aren't new. People first ignore them, some develop VPNs, and some more still look away and think that there was nothing they did that needed to hide. Though it is everyone's freedom of choice to do with their privacy, is this really?

"As long as you don't do anything wrong, you don't worry about being monitored", this is a dangerous notion and it may come from the authorities or commoners who are already heavily influenced by them. Are we talking about either total surveillance or complete indifference? Of course, as we always suggest on this platform, extremity is never the better option. Without some levels of control, people will suffer in chaos. What are we talking about then?

In order to combat the COVID outbreaks, everyone in Taiwan is required to report to the CDC when entering public places. Concerns are raised whether the government use the data they collect for other purposes although disclaiming it. A few days ago, there was news about the police department using that data to track people with criminal records. Can this be? Some may say that it is good because it is the responsibility of the government to protect us from potential danger while some argue that once this is a green light, it would be the start of having no privacy.

This will be in our Sunday talk. You are welcome to join us for the chat.

#discussion