Raising Generation Orwell: A Guide to Teaching Kids the Human Rights of Privacy

by Worlds_Gr8test_DeFective

I was born at a time where I consider myself both lucky and unlucky to come of age during the analog to digital transformation.

I can vividly remember when you could only get in touch with someone if they were home, when staying in touch with your friends was a question of "Do you have Internet?" instead of "What's your Insta?", and when I could walk down city sidewalks without seeing CCTV or an Internet-connected camera in everyone's hands or beside their doorbell.

I consider myself lucky because I grew up with a slower pace of communication, with less expectations to have an "online presence," and when privacy in public was the norm.  Where I am unlucky is that, as an adult, I have been coerced into an "always on" working culture, facial recognition technology paired with Internet-connected cameras and microphones every square meter that is enough to put your subconscious in a manic state of paranoia, and legislation such as the (((PATRIOT Act))) in the United States constantly expanding its capabilities to abuse the very technology that is meant to bring us closer.

So how does this tirade fit into the title of this article?

I remember a time when this was not normal.  When it was different.

I am conscious of the subtle surrenders of privacy we have stumbled into.  Children and teens today are growing up in an increasingly surveilled world which is the norm for them.  They will never remember a time when returning to the United States from overseas travel meant you did not have to surrender your electronic devices to Homeland Security for inspection, or entering a country by air travel did not require you to provide your biometrics at a kiosk prior to crossing customs.

So what can we do about this?

Legislation is not keeping up with the pace of Internet-connected technology from a security and privacy standpoint, so I believe our best strategy forward is to harden the coming of age generation with privacy awareness.

Please consider the following suggestions in how to accomplish this:

• Before taking a photo or video of a child, ask them for permission.  Kids now are conditioned to seeing Internet-connected cameras constantly at home and in public.  Asking them permission gives them control over their digital footprint.
• Educate kids and teens who use Internet-connected devices on vendor telemetry collection and the monetization of data analytics.  This will help them understand that the communication between their source device and the destination is usually more than a two-way connection and involves sometimes up to hundreds of third-parties collecting personal and technical data.  Do not do this as a sense of paranoia, but as an awareness piece on understanding what information is collected over the Internet as an end user.  You can take this a step further by analyzing network logs or using services such as Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) Privacy Badger to visualize data analytics collection.
• Show what surveillance technology your security forces and local law enforcement use in public areas or, in some cases, on private property.  Explain how license plate readers can be abused for profiling patterns of life and how Amazon Ring has the capability to back up recorded footage and audio forever.  This footage can also be integrated with Amazon's Rekognition or Clearview's facial recognition technology and indexed into a criminal database if an agency integrates these services.  A good starting point for this information is the Atlas of Surveillance project by EFF or the work done by The Citizen Lab.
• The most important aspect of this is to not under any circumstances teach kids to be paranoid.  It's very easy to fall into the abyss of paranoia when researching how emerging technology invades privacy.  You will do them no favors by scaring them into thinking Big Brother is always watching.  Empower them to have control over their digital footprint and to understand the privacy risks of attending a protest or sharing photos over social media.  Arm them with knowledge and surveillance self-defense, not fear.