Google Glass and
Privacy:
These Apparently Do
Not Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Jelly
Are the glasses distracting and causing people to crash their cars?
Are they just not fashionable?
Apparently, it’s neither of these. According to a recent study by research firm Toluna, 72% of Americans will not wear Google Glass due to privacy issues[1]. At this I chuckle since these same people are being closely watched and monitored when they enter a department store or even shop online. There every action is studied and their every bit of data is collected and stored for use to market without them evening realizing it.
Due to this unknowing, is Google Glass ahead of its time or are they too open about the functionality it holds? Is it something that is visible and not hidden behind cookies and computer code that people just don't like? Just this year, a woman was attacked for wearing her Google Glasses at a local bar in San Francisco[2]. A woman and a man ripped the glasses off her face and stole her purse saying they didn’t want her “techy kind” around them. So now people have the right to almost perform a citizen’s arrest on those that wear Google Glass?
If you think this is absurd, take a look at this new website called “Stop The Cyborgs”. The site is dedicated to banning Google Glass and setting up designated areas around the world that are Google Glass free.
If you think that the government isn’t going to have a say in Google Glass then you are wrong. Eight members of Congress demanded a range of privacy concerns in a letter to Google’s Chief Executive, Larry Page. People are afraid and when people are in fear they can perform some irrational decisions (the bar altercation is a perfect example). What people don’t understand is that they are under constant surveillance and big data is collected at all times. From the moment they scan their loyalty card at the grocery store to the time they purchase that paperback novel on Amazon with their credit card.
I guess the old sang, “Out of sight, out of mind” really does apply to privacy and big data collection.
Written by Dan Cyr
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