OTM #3 "It's Just Business"

"It's Just Business" largely focuses on the discussion of privacy and rights to information- mainly online data. After listening and re-listening to this story I finally have a good grasp on the situation at hand. For those of us who are not so accustomed to political vocabulary, here's the breakdown. Trump is going to reverse a rule shortly that was set to go into place later this year. The rule was going to govern the rights to information such as private emails, browser history, etc. Fundamentally, the rule was going to require that the "user" had to give consent for the information to be tracked. By revoking this rule, it is unknown what the rights to this data will be.

If you ask me, I think it's crazy that there isn't currently a very clear policy/regulation/rule regarding the rights to user data on a federal scale. However, I also think it's important for any consumer/online user to realize that they are giving up a great deal of privacy by being online at all. It's not realistic to expect to have complete control of your content. Lets be honest, the internet is like a black hole. It's this massive network with so many moving parts its unfathomable! The society we live in today utilizes technology to the fullest. This has its pros and cons. For example, take a look at something like Google Earth. Consumers love to use this technology to "explore the world" without lifting more than a finger. But it is often overlooked that in essence, we are all being watched and documented. The same is true for cameras in parking lots or gas stations. My point is, our society today has completely changed the game for what amount privacy is even possible. That being said, I also don't think online service providers should be able to make money off of the data we generate.

Just as a side note to all of this, it seems unnecessary for Trump to be spending time and effort undoing everything that Obama did. I understand that each President has a strategy and the power to make decisions that will change things, but if every President were to come along and undo what the President before had done then nothing would ever get done! Truthfully I think that is one of the problems with the system. And not only that, but it takes so long to make these changes that the effects of the new rules are never really seen all the way through to see if they are beneficial or not! Just food for thought,