“Haldane is planning to set up 160 security cameras around the high school.” That’s not actually happening, but imagine if it did. Having a camera for every two students seems a little unnecessary, doesn’t it? China, a country with 1.4 billion people, has an estimated 700 million CCTV cameras according to Forbes magazine, fitting the same ratio as our hypothetical scenario. Clearly, surveillance is a major issue in the East Asian country.
What many may not realize is that government and Internet surveillance also exist in the United States, much closer to home. After events such as the Cold War and Sept. 11, there haven’t been many checks on the U.S. government’s ability to monitor our actions, including its citizens’ emails and calls. Additionally, major private companies, such as Google and Meta, have been known for taking their users’ personal information, including their locations, messages, and emails, as described by security.org.
With this knowledge, why would Haldane use Google for so many digital purposes? Communication is done through Gmail, students write essays and complete assignments through Google Docs, fill out personal information on forms, and teachers post classwork and homework through Google Classroom.
Haldane’s technology director, Leah Horn, is primarily responsible for all of the school’s technology-related activities and for solving issues in this field. One of her many responsibilities is to ensure that the software that the school uses does not steal the personal information of students and teachers. Horn explained that in 2015, the school was using Microsoft Outlook as its email system. That year, they decided to make the switch to Google, since it was free back then, while continuing to use Microsoft would have been more expensive.
Google doesn’t have the best track record with handling the information and maintaining the privacy of its users, so it brings up the question of whether Haldane made the right decision. Fortunately, Google is compliant with the data laws, specifically Ed Law 2-D, which the NYS Education Department states “protects student personally identifiable information (PII) from unauthorized disclosure.” Still, online platforms, including Google Maps, Google Translate, and YouTube, are not compliant with Ed Law 2-D, which explains why these programs are blocked through students’ school accounts. Horn said that she trusts Google and that if the school stopped using it, the company would delete our data. Horn can even control some settings, such as only using United States-based servers rather than international ones.
Even with this reassurance, the Internet can still be a dangerous place, even for the ordinary person. Horn explained: “Be vigilant. In your email, pretend you’re walking down a dark alley.” and to “Be on guard when you give information online.”
While we, U.S. citizens, may not have to face the same caliber of surveillance as in China, it is important to recognize that your life is not as private as you may think.
