Adjacent to privacy invasion risks, geotags pose an even bigger problem; physical threat. According to Abraham Maslow, humans require safety as a basic need to live and physical threats that stem from the negligent use of geotagging via social media threaten this fundament (1943). Since geotags reveal accurate location data, online criminals waiting to lure victims through the use of a computer are no longer contained by hidden location barriers, thus enhancing the risks of cyber-stalking. A Toronto citizen named Vanessa Bruno was cyber-stalked in 2013 by a stranger residing in Stoney Creek who threatened to stalk her at work and rape her (Dempsey, 2014). According to The Star, Bruno actively posted personal content on Facebook, Twitter and
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Research noted that 78% of ex-convicted burglars strongly believed social media networks are being used by current thieves to target properties (Schiffner, 2013) which points to more detrimental effects of geotagging. Attaching location-based data to content posted online can reveal private information to strangers which can lead them to determine when, where, and what time is best to foil an attack on the personal property of users. This further contributes to the lack of physical safety of self and property brought upon by negligent use of geotags over social media. Essentially, geotagging over social media gives online criminals what they want without them having to input as much effort into finding a user’s location; this “ease of access” frames geotagging as a detrimental …show more content…
Location patterns of individuals reveal their private whereabouts; where they are; where they were before; where they usually go; where they work; where they live, all made possible by geotags (Albrechtslund, 2008). In fact, these private whereabouts are constantly under surveillance which brings into question whether they are private at all. In the words of Celeste Chaney, “Surveillance doesn’t go both ways. There are those who watch, and those who are watched; the powerful, and the powerless” (2015). Government surveillance can access the precise location of someone’s existence through geotagging which is problematic considering individuals have no knowledge of where such data is stored or how it is used. In fact, government surveillance is constant, thereby allowing the monitoring, hacking, surveillance, and collection of individuals’ locations at all times which endangers the freedom of users within a society (Albrechtslund, 2008). The debate over government surveillance has flocculated regularly, however with an added element of location coming into focus, the sensitivity of the subject increases. Ultimately, through geotagging, the government is constantly watching the existence of a user in their private space, without their
Research noted that 78% of ex-convicted burglars strongly believed social media networks are being used by current thieves to target properties (Schiffner, 2013) which points to more detrimental effects of geotagging. Attaching location-based data to content posted online can reveal private information to strangers which can lead them to determine when, where, and what time is best to foil an attack on the personal property of users. This further contributes to the lack of physical safety of self and property brought upon by negligent use of geotags over social media. Essentially, geotagging over social media gives online criminals what they want without them having to input as much effort into finding a user’s location; this “ease of access” frames geotagging as a detrimental …show more content…
Location patterns of individuals reveal their private whereabouts; where they are; where they were before; where they usually go; where they work; where they live, all made possible by geotags (Albrechtslund, 2008). In fact, these private whereabouts are constantly under surveillance which brings into question whether they are private at all. In the words of Celeste Chaney, “Surveillance doesn’t go both ways. There are those who watch, and those who are watched; the powerful, and the powerless” (2015). Government surveillance can access the precise location of someone’s existence through geotagging which is problematic considering individuals have no knowledge of where such data is stored or how it is used. In fact, government surveillance is constant, thereby allowing the monitoring, hacking, surveillance, and collection of individuals’ locations at all times which endangers the freedom of users within a society (Albrechtslund, 2008). The debate over government surveillance has flocculated regularly, however with an added element of location coming into focus, the sensitivity of the subject increases. Ultimately, through geotagging, the government is constantly watching the existence of a user in their private space, without their