Google invading personal freedom through technological advances

Nowadays, an online presence is not only recommended, but also vital for any business. There is talk about how convenient it will be for people to be able to pay for services by means of smart phones and electronic money. However, what isn’t being discussed is the issue of customers’ personal data and what the potential consequences are of possessing this information. Competitive intelligence analyst Igor Nezhdanov discussed the topic with the Voice of Russia.

“Google will possess a lot of information about people’s preferences, their contacts, and their shopping. All this can be analyzed and certain conclusions can be made. For example, where a person lives, what places he visits, what's his income. The US intelligence community stands behind Google, and they have got a lot of joint enterprises. Thus, together with the CIA and National Security Agency, Google is developing a variety of search and analytical platforms, all of which are connected with analyzing information about people’s behavior and collecting their personal data. And all this is done not only in the United States, but on a global scale.”

It is no secret that in recent years Google, Facebook and Apple have all been competing for supremacy on the Internet. Through improving their online technologies, their plans seem as though they want to turn the Internet into some Orwellian dystopia: constant monitoring and analysis of everyone’s online activity.

Ironically, people willfully subscribe to this technological bondage, because sacrificing their freedom grants them certain conveniences: users can make purchases, communicate, and work their jobs all without leaving the comfort of their homes. The Internet megacorporations are also monetizing every one of these processes, making lucrative sums through advertising.

Yet besides this apparent bonus for letting Google et al invade our personal lives, it doesn’t come without a price. All this wealth of information concentrated in the networks makes it increasingly easier for cyber crooks to profiteer from identity theft.

Therefore the dilemma for the average web surfer still remains: enjoy all the perks the Internet offers at the cost of your personal freedom, or stay offline to escape the influence of the Internet’s Big Brothers?

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