Stossel episode: They Know What You Do

[jct74]

They Know What You Do (9PM ET on FBN)

Posted by John Stossel | April 24, 2014

THE DEATH OF PRIVACY: I love the internet. It makes my life better. But there's a tradeoff. Eric Yaverbaum of SocialMediaMags.com says social media freaks him out because "your life isn't private anymore."

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Do you agree to the "terms and conditions" on a website without reading them? I do. I doubt that anyone reads them. Terms And Conditions May Apply director Cullen Hoback explains what "people give up when they agree to these things."

HACK ATTACKS: Crooks can sneak into your computer and watch what you do. Today's computer viruses are less likely to try to harm your computer, more likely to steal private information. Robert Siciliano of McAfee says everyone needs "a good anti-virus program" to "keep the bad guys out."

GPS: Now the government wants to know where you drive. And how you drive. Tech Reporter "Cyberguy" Kurt Knutsson says "Big Brother has been chomping at our heels and our privacy for years now."

DATA COLLECTORS: Advertisers track what I do on the web and then run ads targeted at me. This infuriates people but I agree with Kate Kaye of Advertising Age, who says "less fear-mongering" is in order

OFF THE GRID: Are you sick of constant emails, texting, and internet noise? Paul Miller of The Verge "just wanted to quit and get away" so he went off the grid for a year. He says he felt lonely, out of sync, and couldn't work: "everybody's job requires them to at least have email now."

MY TAKE: For all the privacy I've lost, I'd never give up my smartphone or favorite websites to get it back. Facebook, Amazon, Cato @ Liberty, and Reason.com provide me with so much good stuff. What bothers me is that people say, when it comes to loss of privacy, business worries them more than government. Why? Businesses can't use force; businesses can't forcibly take our money and put us in jail. But government can. Government spying is a much bigger threat than anything business might do.

9PM ET on Fox Business Network

http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/stossel/blog/2014/04/24/they-know-what-you-do-9pm-et-fbn

 

[jct74]

bump

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Well, that all looks pretty hopeless. We are Borg. You will be assimilated.

 

[Suzanimal]

TERMS & CONDITIONS: Do you agree to the "terms and conditions" on a website without reading them? I do. I doubt that anyone reads them. Terms And Conditions May Apply director Cullen Hoback explains what "people give up when they agree to these things."

South Park taught me to read the Terms & Conditions. Every time I consider just skipping over them(I ain't got time for that) I remember that human centipede.

 

[jct74]

re-airs on Fox New tonight at 10 pm ET

 

[Anti Federalist]

Well, that all looks pretty hopeless. We are Borg. You will be assimilated.

Meh, consider the source:

Many libertarians, outraged by how our government spies on us, call me a "traitor" because I'm not very angry. I understand that the National Security Administration tracking patterns in our emails and phone calls could put us on a terrible, privacy-crushing slippery slope.

But we're not there yet.

I'm convinced that widespread use of cameras is one reason crime is down in America. Some criminals are caught, and others deterred.

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2013/07/03/i-shrugged-n1632389/page/full

 

[DamianTV]

Expect all this information that is collected on everyone, by both Businesses and Govts, to very soon bite everyone in the ass.

 

[ClydeCoulter]

Meh, consider the source:





http://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2013/07/03/i-shrugged-n1632389/page/full

Yea, he says that "We're not there yet" but doesn't see a reason to put on the brakes full force to stop the train?

 

[Anti Federalist]

Yea, he says that "We're not there yet" but doesn't see a reason to put on the brakes full force to stop the train?

He's a "Do Nothing".

 

[Uriel999]

He's a "Do Nothing".

It isn't that he is a "do nothing" it is just he has no more time left in the day after working on tv and grooming his stash. I mean...have you looked at his stash...it is epic.

I disagree with him on the issue, but honestly I'm fairly certain at this point that unless you hang ever spook out there from the FBI, CIA, NSA, DHS, etc and then proceed to demolish absolutely every computer and paper file in existence at their offices you will won't see change. I would not advocate that as you might get shot up, droned, or disappeared pretty quick. We can get all the laws passed we want saying they can't spy...they will continue.

 

[brushfire]

Stossel started out establishment, moved off that wagon, and then back on with the topic of privacy. I dont know that he's a blatant shill like Beck is, but I must say that I was deeply disappointed with his stance on the right of privacy. A libertarian who doesn't support the 4th amendment really isn't a libertarian, IMO.

Perhaps his keepers are the same ones who shrugged the Judge? Maybe they coerced Stossel into throwing the NSA a bone in order to keep his spot on FBN? Perhaps Stossel obliged, but where is he at now?

Coalitions over compromise.

 

[Anti Federalist]

By "do nothing" I mean that he has ceded this issue.

To him, the fight is over, nothing left to rail about, Big Brother is here to stay and has some upsides to it, so forget it and "move on".

It isn't that he is a "do nothing" it is just he has no more time left in the day after working on tv and grooming his stash. I mean...have you looked at his stash...it is epic.

I disagree with him on the issue, but honestly I'm fairly certain at this point that unless you hang ever spook out there from the FBI, CIA, NSA, DHS, etc and then proceed to demolish absolutely every computer and paper file in existence at their offices you will won't see change. I would not advocate that as you might get shot up, droned, or disappeared pretty quick. We can get all the laws passed we want saying they can't spy...they will continue.

 

[Occam's Banana]

Many libertarians, outraged by how our government spies on us, call me a "traitor" because I'm not very angry. I understand that the National Security Administration tracking patterns in our emails and phone calls could put us on a terrible, privacy-crushing slippery slope.

But we're not there yet.

... you know ... 'coz waiting until we're "there yet" before we get angry about it is just gonna work out soooo well ...

 

[nayjevin]

Many libertarians, outraged by how our government spies on us, call me a "traitor" because I'm not very angry. I understand that the National Security Administration tracking patterns in our emails and phone calls could put us on a terrible, privacy-crushing slippery slope.

But we're not there yet.

I see nothing wrong with that. Guy doesn't get angry about anything, just adorably annoyed.

I'm convinced that widespread use of cameras is one reason crime is down in America. Some criminals are caught, and others deterred.

http://townhall.com/columnists/johnstossel/2013/07/03/i-shrugged-n1632389/page/full

He goes on to say:

I don't suggest that we should be passive about data mining and surveillance. But we should not let the latest threat make us passive about the old ones, some of them much more clearly wrong.

Clearly wrong. There are actually great arguments for having something like the NSA, to those who are sympathetic to some government. Private businesses might choose to monitor all communications within their purview. Left to their own devices, inevitably they would spy on each other as much as they could.

Personally, I see no real reason that he should be angry about the same things I am. I would rather see him work on the things that he's angry about, he'll be better at it.

By "do nothing" I mean that he has ceded this issue.

To him, the fight is over, nothing left to rail about, Big Brother is here to stay and has some upsides to it, so forget it and "move on".

I've ceded the issue too. What power do I have? People will get as angry as they will get without me, the people working on privacy issues are in a position to change the matter.

Personally, it is far too late for me to learn what it would take for me to do anything to protect my own privacy. I can only live a life where it doesn't matter. Until private industries come up with ways to sell me a way to have privacy, I won't have it. It pisses me off if I think about it, but I'm powerless to change it.

 

[nayjevin]

Stossel on privacy, also he's an entertainer and therefore presumably likes attention (I don't think that's bad, though it can become bad.) So I wouldn't expect him to feel the same about privacy issues as I do.