Real-life privacy is an easy thing to understand. Don’t peek into my windows! Don’t put up surveillance cameras on every corner! Don’t tap my phone calls! But what about online privacy? What should the government be able to know about us? How much data should companies give them? And just how the heck did we get here with online privacy?
PBS’ always excellent Off Book series analyses how online privacy got to where it is now through its history, the laws that govern it and the technology that always changes it. PBS Off Book explains:
As technology has evolved over the past two centuries, so have our expectations about privacy. This new digital world allows us to connect with each other with increasing ease, but it has also left our personal information readily available, and our privacy vulnerable. Cultural norms have pushed us all online, seemingly at the mercy of whatever terms of service are put before us. Cookies and tracking allow companies to collect limitless amounts of information about us, often more than we’d share with family and friends. And in the push for national security, the government has collected vast amounts of information as well, often without our knowledge. With the NSA leak reigniting this important debate, we take a closer look at the state of privacy in the digital age.