When Orwell wrote his novel most homes didn’t even have a TV. And some didn’t have a phone. But we live in a world of devices. Orwell’s vision of a “telescreen” comes in every size and shape these days. And everyone carries an iPhone with them at all times.
Social media is constantly streaming, and Big Tech is literally everywhere. In the wake of COVID-19, the techno-pandemic has deepened our dependence on, and immersion in technology.
Instagram is accused of spying on its users. Facebook just settled a lawsuit for gathering the biometric and facial data of millions of users, without their knowledge.
Zoom falsely and repeatedly claimed it is using “end-to-end encryption,” which is the basic internet standard to protect users’ communications on a platform. But it doesn’t have end-to-end encryption and a class-action lawsuit against it is pending.
Even the Walt Disney Company along with Nickelodeon, the parent company of Viacom, and others have agreed to settle a lawsuit with parents for allegedly embedding software that harvests the personal data of children and sending that data out to networks of advertisers.
