I Know Who Will be Watching You

Note: This post is my prediction of an aspect of the future. Take it with a grain of salt.

Introduction

If you think that the government is going to be recording your every move more and more in the future, then you need to think again. There are people in the government who are interested in knowing everything about you and your activities; make no mistake about that. However, it is businesses that, more and more, will be installing the cameras that watch you in stores and on the street and that will be following you on the Internet.

The Ability to Watch Us

Advances in technology have made the instruments that record us (e.g., cameras, microphones, computer spyware) smaller and harder to detect. Eventually they will be virtually invisible. These instruments are also getting cheaper and of higher quality. The cost of monitoring us is becoming a non-issue.

The Desire to Watch Us

Some people in the government want to watch us to give the appearance that they are doing something to protect us. This is especially the case in our post-9/11 world. The effectiveness and legality of their monitoring is highly debated, but their desire to appear protective is not. Then there are other people in the government who have non-altruistic reasons for watching us.

Businesses want to watch us to increase their profits. Targeted advertising (aka, targeted marketing) is a very effective tool, but it requires knowledge about us. The more that is known about us, the better that businesses can target us. For example, if most guys who come into a particular store in a group buy beer and extra large condoms but buy soda and small condoms when they come in alone, that store might find it makes more money by putting the extra large condoms near the beer and putting the small condoms near the soda. But, to do that, the store needs to know about your condom buying habits (assuming you are a guy who visits that store).

There is a third group of people who wants to watch us: criminals. This is especially true of Internet-based criminals who are after your money or identity.

The Legality of Watching Us

If the tools that will watch us will be cheap and (practically) undetectable, then we will be monitored whether it is legal or not. That is how the real world works. So we know that criminals will definitely watch us. But what about the government and businesses?

I think that laws will place greater restrictions on the government than on businesses. That doesn't always stop the government from watching us. But, wherever possible, I think that it won't be the government that installs cameras and tracks your Internet activities; it will be businesses. The decision will be partly legal but mostly economic.

Let me give you an example so that you can decide for yourself. Pretend you are the government.

• You can pay for the tools. You can pay for the installation of the tools. You can pay for the monitoring of the tools. You can pay for the maintenance of the tools. You can go to jail if you get caught. Since the tools can be tracked back to you, it is easier for you to get caught. OR...
• You can buy the data from businesses who own the tools. If you're not legally supposed to have access to the data, then you can buy the data covertly. Since the tools can be tracked back to the businesses, it is harder for you to get caught.

Which option do you choose? Remember that buying the data is going to be cheaper than collecting it yourself. (FYI: Many businesses do sell customer data. In fact, there are some business that do nothing but collect data for the purposes of selling it.)

Conclusion

While the government does have an interest in watching us, it is businesses that will be doing most of the direct monitoring. The advancement of technology is making this possible; human nature makes it inevitable. Ubiquitous recording is a reality that we must accept and learn deal with in new ways. We must also make an effort to educate people of older generations who just don't believe that it can or will happen. We must tell them that it has already started.