I've posted a few times my thoughts on how silly the notion of privacy is. There are ways to make things hidden, but nothing is private. In a creation based on fundamental unity what can be private, and just who is there to keep it private from? How many people actually do anything that anyone else really cares to look at. Though even as I have little concern for privacy for myself, I do understand others are keenly intent on maintaining at least the illusion of individual security.
Obviously with the news that the NSA has backdoors into so many devices, this becomes a valid question. So Just who owns that phone in your pocket? For me the answer is sadly Motorola, and Verizon. Why do I say that? Like so many people I got a discount, and got my phone for free by signing a contract with Verizon for service. So my phone which I pay for is not actually mine till the contract is complete. If I violate the terms of the contract I can lose service, and suffer fees for early termination which make that unattractive. Now it's an android but does that really matter? Not really as I am stuck using the provided OS, and a bunch of bloatware that locks up much of my phones resources. There are even questions about if gaining root access will void my warranty, let alone using custom roms. I've already lost most end users of these devices, that is biggest problem in taking control of your device. We don't as a norm understand what we are using. The idea that your phone should be treated more like your desktop PC is a novel concept for most people. Honestly that is my point, most of us walk around with a device we don't actually understand, even if we are able to use many features. They are generally top level functions, with most of the control of the device being transparent to the user, and for most people this is fine. How many people need to know how the video they just took ends up posted to their favorite site.
We walk around with a computer in our pocket, or purse or whatever. It has an always on connection, that we will complain about if we lose signal strength. This computer has audio, and video, and most of us have no clue about the device beyond a few apps they use on a regular basis. Then we scream bloody murder when we find out the cloak and dagger world has been using our ignorance against us. Seriously as a famous genie once said "wake up and smell the humus". If you are unwilling or unable to control your energies what ever form they might take someone else will control them for you, and usually to their benefit not yours. This is a truth of the model we have set up, is it the only model we are capable of following? of course not. We live in a world where we spend more money to be able to "defend our interests" then anything else. As I've repeatedly said, when you do not own a thing like your phone, or the internet, or the frequency your data travels through the air on, you have no right to privacy. All you can do is make it tougher for those trying to watch you to do their job. Learn about encryption, understand how your device works, and if it's actually yours or not.
Jack
aka
PanseyBard
