
BeckyStrause
NSA (Nation Security Agency) is one of many government agencies (think FEMA prior to Katrina) that goes without a thought from us, until one day they end up in the news for doing something we didn’t know about but don’t like. Now the NSA and their surveillance program PRISM are on the tips of everyone’s tongues, thanks to a leak by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
If you’re not familiar with the NSA, get out from under the rock, and watch this funny video that breaks it down.
There are various areas of concern of online privacy. One of the areas is the concern of hackers or other users getting your information. But what we’re talking about now is that the government’s surveillance of the Internet. The 9 companies tied to PRISM are AOL, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, PalTalk, Skype, Yahoo! and Youtube.
Will adults follow the teens and make a mass migration from Facebook? There are many more things to consider for anyone who plans to leave the safe confines of Facebook to move on to another social network. For instance, Instagram, which attracts lots of not yet adults, use centralized servers that are rather simple to access by hackers. So everyone part of a potential Facebook exodus need to decide which bothers them more: the government getting their info, or random people spying on them.
According to this Washington Post article , “ Classified documents newly made available to The Washington Post and the Guardian describe the National Security Agency’s procedures for protecting the privacy of U.S. citizens. Those documents can be read here.
Privacy and the NSA is such a hot topic right now, many people are writing about it. Feel free to check out these articles of advice on how to deal with privacy concerns: