“You’re Being Watched Right Now” — The New York Times, 2019, 12:15 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8jDsg-M6qM

This video asks you to reflect upon your privacy comfort level, or how much you care about others knowing your personal information and browsing history. It speaks to the concept of surveillance society where we adjust our behavior because we know we could be being watched at any given time. The video raises a lot of ethical questions and potential problems that occur when a society has no privacy laws or data ownership provisions. The overall point is that a society of surveillance is a society of submission. Powerful entities have historically used technological surveillance as tools of control and suppression, and they will certainly continue to do so in the future. 

So what is your privacy comfort level, and has it been breached yet?

From the video’s description: The surveillance state is the stuff of dystopian novels and futuristic thrillers. Or, as revealed in the Video Op-Ed above, it’s here now. With ad trackers on our phones, facial recognition cameras on our streets and N.S.A. agents listening in on our phone calls, Big Brother is watching. Throughout 2019, The New York Times Opinion department’s Privacy Project has been trying to make the conversation about privacy a little less boring, a little less complicated and a lot more real. We keep hearing, “I’ve got nothing to hide” or “I can’t actually do anything about it.” But when the government fails to protect your privacy, it’s up to you to set your limits. It’s time to decide: Are you really O.K. with being watched?