The collection of data and consent has been a trending issue for years already. A privileged few, living in countries with laws that attempt to provide awareness and choice around privacy online such as GDPR regulations will know the common pop ups regarding cookies and whether they agree to the website optional or obligatory conditions. However, our data is still being constantly harvested and more often than not do I see people click the accept button in order to get to the website they need to without even reading the disclaimers.
But do we ever consider what happens when someone takes an Instagram video at a tourist sight, unintentionally catching your face or the amount of the number of phones in the world that has a photo of you in the background? With new inventions such as the Meta Glasses concern over privacy is resurfacing and old questions are being asked of new technology.
The new glasses have the capacity to record audio, video and capture pictures through discreetly embedded cameras in the corners of eye ware. You no longer even need to hold up a phone to upload content and can be video people as they look at what to them appears average sunglasses. Capturing audio-visual materials at mass or doing so without people’s awareness is nothing new, but the capacity for anyone to do so in a way that becomes socially acceptable is, and it is concerning for many.
How do we ask consent of people when taking videos on our phones or soon – glasses? People will not be handing out consent forms to everyone in a crowd or even asking them orally as is common practice for organisations. Meta allows people to denounce material posted online that includes your face without your consent, but many have pointed out that the system does not always work in their favour and often ignores what they consider to be fewer problematic cases. Meta is by no means the only company or even government who will or already is using such technology to their advantage.
I question whether we haven’t already lost of the battle of consent? And the affect that has on individual and community wellbeing.
References
Adamopoulos, Tina. “Who Owns Your Face? Scholars at U of T’s Schwartz Reisman Institute Explore Tech’s Thorniest Questions.” University of Toronto, www.utoronto.ca/news/who-owns-your-face-scholars-u-t-s-schwartz-reisman-institute-explore-tech-s-thorniest-questions. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
Barocas, Solon, and Helen Nissenbaum. “Big Data’s End Run around Anonymity and Consent (Chapter 2) – Privacy, Big Data, and the Public Good.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, www.cambridge.org/core/books/privacy-big-data-and-the-public-good/big-datas-end-run-around-anonymity-and-consent/0BAA038A4550C729DAA24DFC7D69946C. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
Datafication, Power and Control in Development: A Historical Perspective, journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/14649934221076580. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.
Growcoot, Matt. “Meta Admits Smart Glasses Put Privacy at Risk, Offers No Solutions.” PetaPixel, 14 July 2022, petapixel.com/2022/07/14/meta-admits-smart-glasses-put-privacy-at-risk-offers-no-solutions/.
Monitoring, Datafication, and Consent: Legal Approaches to Privacy In …, www.researchgate.net/publication/297994384_Monitoring_Datafication_and_Consent_Legal_Approaches_to_Privacy_in_the_Big_Data_Context. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.