Big Brother is watching you: Google

Google Big Brother is watching you! We live in a hyper-connected world now. If you buy a new Android phone, Big Brother is watching you! We live in a hyper-connected world now. If you buy a new Android phone, Most phones compulsively connect your phone to your Google account.  Is it useful? Yes, absolutely. But can it be harmful? Yes! Absolutely! 

For a long time, academicians have repeatedly said that the government and different corporations actively spy on people. But people could not even fathom the reach of such institutions until Edward Snowden blew the whistle about illegal surveillance programs used by the NSA and other big tech companies. 

The New York Times released a story yesterday called A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal. The story includes an American citizen who clicked a picture of his son’s medical condition concerning his genitalia. He clicked the picture and sent it to the healthcare providers who directed him to click the picture in the first place.

Then the healthcare worker showed the pictures to the physician, who diagnosed the condition and prescribed antibiotics for the child. While the child was in the clear, that picture raised an alarm on Google.

The Google algorithm quickly flagged the picture as child pornography, restricted access to the phone, and triggered an emergency response that led to an open investigation against the father, who wants to be called Mark. 

The Google Investigation and Outcome

But the investigation quickly concluded since the pictures were taken for a legitimate reason. Upon understanding the context of the picture, the police cleared Mark for his alleged crime. But Google did not give him access to his account again. Mark lost access to all his personal information and contacts indefinitely. 

These big-tech companies go through trillions of records of their users every day, and it is no surprise to know that the internet is also often used for criminal activities.  Mark is one of the innocent casualties of this algorithm. Big Brother is watching you!  

The second technique is more nuanced. These algorithms monitor the digital signature of the user – in other words, it is not just monitoring which site you visit, what text you send, or what link you share, but it also monitors your writing style and rhythm, your niche, and so on.

If the algorithm comes across any malicious digital signatures, well, you are in some serious trouble!