I need new music and I need it now. My iTunes library is cobweb ridden and tainted by the vocals of Fall Out Boy, DJ Khaled and other ghosts of purchases past. I’ve skipped one too many tracks on Pandora and cannot force myself to listen to another thirty, painful seconds of ZzzQuil ads. I’m just trying to get my Yeezy on. I decide to test the waters with Spotify and hastily create an account, inputting my name, zip code, genre preferences, and other extraneous personal details into the site’s database. I’m redirected to the predicable page of “Terms and Conditions”, scroll past lengthy paragraphs of fine print, consent, and finally satisfy my audio craving with the tender lyricism of “New Slaves”.
It’s second nature. I think nothing of it. Clicking that “Agree” button is as routine as blinking and just another step in gaining access to the latest episode of Breaking Bad.
If you’re like me, it isn’t something that keeps you up at night. But maybe it should be.
On July 12th, documentarian and director Cullen Hoback will release his newest film, Terms and Conditions May Apply in select theaters. The motion picture investigates the convoluted world of online privacy – or lack thereof – by examining the cunning agreement tactics of corporations like Facebook, Google, and YouTube. Hoback’s tagline begs the question: “What if privacy policies weren’t about protecting privacy but about taking it away?”
According to Twitchfilm Magazine, the movie provides an eerie outlook on what you’re giving away when you create that new profile. It paints a startling picture of our technologically ruled era and shows how companies are essentially stockpiling your consumer data only to dish it out to government agencies like the FBI, CIA, and Department of Homeland Security.
Pump the breaks. This is America, right? Home of the free! We have clauses and amendments and other Constitutional righteousness that a bunch of guys in powdered wigs decided would make us better than everybody else! We just got done eating hot dogs, tossing back Bud heavy, and watching amateur pyromaniacs set off fireworks to celebrate that freedom, remember? So how is this happening? The answer: quite stealthily.
Twitchfilm contests that web-based enterprises intentionally make the miniscule font of that novel agreement difficult for the average consumer to process. Moreover, they are taking full advantage of our apathy. Personally, I’d rather gauge my eyes out before being forced to interpret that Morse Code of bullshit than stands between me and showing the world the raw magnitude of my Lo-Fi filtered omelet. And Spotify knows that. The Constitution unfortunately doesn’t protect ignorance and if you accept the terms and conditions, you are often fundamentally signing away your privacy. Get in a pickle down the road or a background check for a new job and that can come back to bite you.
So what can you do about it? Depending on the value of your free time, you have two options: You can either analyze computer screen contracts until your last grey hair falls solemnly on the floor OR you can inform yourself. I’d go with the latter. Realistically, I cherish the cultivation of my social media empire way too much to delete it now. These 1200 tweets didn’t write themselves and I cannot bear to see them go down a la Titanic. I’ll never let go.
Be smart. Go to Google and remove your personalization. Terms of Service Didn’t Read allows you to review condensed ratings of the agreement conditions from Foursquare to Netflix in order to understand what information you’ve authorized them. Team Disconnect has a nifty download that enables constant, private browsing. Take the precautions and protect yourself. Safe net is great net.
Remember, anything that has been digitized is not private. Mom and dad were right on that one. While that three-minute Yeezus track might be free, it could come at a greater cost to your personal security.
Photo courtesy of: twitchfilm.com
