Privacy In Little Brother By Cory Doctorow

Privacy has been, since the beginning of time, a highly regarded aspect of society and of everyday life. The literal definition of privacy is, according to Google, “the state or condition of being free from being observed or disturbed by other people”. Without privacy, there would be no freedom. Everyone, everywhere, every second of every day, could be observed by other people in the world. To some, this may seem like a fine idea. It would be a way to make sure that the intentions of potential terrorists or other criminals were prevented. But is this more efficient way of catching criminals worth it if means that any life could be held under a microscope? No. What is data mining? According to docs.oracle.com, it is the practice of automatically searching large stores of data to discover patterns and trends that go beyond simple analysis. In the book Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, the Department …show more content…
Through data mining, the government would be able to see into the lives of people both guilty and innocent and scrutinize over every detail. Any small act, like emailing a foreign relative to ask for advice, would be subject to suspicion and may even result in questioning by government officials. Not only that, but any government agent could determine your religious affiliation, see that you enjoy Nicholas Sparks novels, and view your banknote. This is not just a breach of your Fourth Amendment rights, but an overall detestable violation of