In choosing to remain somewhat anonymous in this blog, I will introduce myself simply by my class twitter handle @Marissupial. (Feel free to follow, although I generally only post for class). You’ll know which posts are mine whenever you see that little avatar up there.
I am a 21 year old senior at the University of Maryland with a double major in Communications and E
nglish. I never really had much of an interest in the tech industry beyond being a basic user and consumer of it, but upon reading several articles I found through reddit I gained a lot of information regarding what was actually happening around me when I used almost any website or application.
nglish. I never really had much of an interest in the tech industry beyond being a basic user and consumer of it, but upon reading several articles I found through reddit I gained a lot of information regarding what was actually happening around me when I used almost any website or application.As someone who is inherently against the NSA’s mass data collection and surveillance programs and a passionate supporter of privacy rights, understanding what services I personally use do with my data became an utmost priority. Plus it really freaked me out when I would look up an item or article of clothing only to find that same item popping up in various advertisements on different webpages I visited, even in my Facebook newsfeed. This bothered me more than I can put into words; the notion that so much of what I consider private information seemed to all be tracked, stored and sold away to various advertisement companies ready to make a profit. Now, whenever I download an app or consider making an account on a new platform 
or website I actually read the Terms of Service instead of just clicking the “I agree” box. I thought that if I was informed and understood exactly what these companies were going to do, I would feel safer and I could choose not to spend my time on the websites that sought to sell and profit off of any and all data they could get their hands on. But I was wrong.
or website I actually read the Terms of Service instead of just clicking the “I agree” box. I thought that if I was informed and understood exactly what these companies were going to do, I would feel safer and I could choose not to spend my time on the websites that sought to sell and profit off of any and all data they could get their hands on. But I was wrong.Many companies don’t go into the nitty gritty of what’s really happening behind closed doors, where your data is actually going and what’s happening to it. Some claim that your data is “anonymized” but do not reveal the fact that upon receipt, other companies can (and do) easily de-anonymize it by connecting it with other data they have on you from other sites. This is why I am a part of this blog; I fundamentally believe in our right as users and consumers to understand in crystal 
clear terms what is being collected and where it is being sent. Reading through the terms of service shouldn’t require a dictionary and it definitely shouldn’t create fuzzy grey areas that essentially allow companies to do whatever they want with your data, malicious or not, without facing potential consequences.
clear terms what is being collected and where it is being sent. Reading through the terms of service shouldn’t require a dictionary and it definitely shouldn’t create fuzzy grey areas that essentially allow companies to do whatever they want with your data, malicious or not, without facing potential consequences.
Crystal Clear 