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Earlier this year, the US Department of Homeland Security went to extreme lengths to try to obtain information on a Canadian man who was criticizing the Trump administration online.
While many civilized governments would accept this as par for the course, the agency was not having it and went as far as to issue a demand to Google to hand over the user’s location history, as reported by WIRED.
Naturally, this set off a ripple effect of outcry from the public who say this is a breach of civil liberties and it has since left many to wonder just how much power the government has when it comes to accessing your private data.
Now, a cybersecurity expert has warned that there may only be one real barrier stopping governments from accessing huge amounts of your personal information.
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According to Jurgita Lapienytė, who is the chief editor at Cybernews, your online privacy relies heavily on whether tech companies choose to resist handing it over.
Lapienytė explains how ‘the scary part’ is that these firms such as Google and other platforms already ‘have all that information that the government could use against its people: email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, activity logs, and whereabouts, among other sensitive data’.
She continues: “We may choose to trust that companies will do their best to protect our data, since their reputation and profits depend on it. But we cannot always trust governments to protect us.”
Of course, the best approach is to make sure your personal data is as secure as it can be in the first place, and Lapienytė has some top tips on how to achieve this.
First up, switch to privacy-focused tech options as the expert explains: “Ditch Google, TikTok, Meta apps, forget data-harvesting and simply malicious browser extensions. May I suggest even exploring some European tech alternatives built with privacy in mind?”
And sometimes, it’s better to ditch your smartphone altogether in favor of going analogue.
This is because when you have your device with you ‘your location is traceable, and you aren’t also mute’.
Lapienytė says that it is always advisable to opt out of personalization options by declining cookies, blocking ads and hiding your location.
She adds: “That hyperpersonalization isn’t created for you - it’s designed so advertisers can know you better.”
Last but not least, it is important to remember your manners when surfing the net. It might seem like an obvious point but one that many often forget.
The internet is forever, with Lapienytė highlighting that ‘exercising your free speech should not mean hate speech’.
