A headline in Business Insider: “It Looks Like The Facebook Android App Can Control Your Camera And Take Pictures Without Telling You.”
If this is actually true, and I do not doubt it is, it is truly the end of Personal Privacy. See: http://read.bi/16fPpXq
The ramifications are astounding. Facebook and Google teaming up, either cooperating at a corporate level, OR with technology used independently by Facebook. Note: The public face of these firms is that they are in co-opition with each other. (Competitors that use each others technologies.) Soon, it is rumored Facebook will announce a phone of their own.
It is not a surprise that the technologies exist to trigger a phone and or camera to turn on and off without human intervention. That is a no-brainer. Combine this ability with the GPS positioning and triangulation technologies and you have a sender receiver with precise coordinates, and an audio and video capture ability to see and hear anything on the planet at any time.
This seems to me to be Facebook’s answer to Google Streetview project to chronicle the world and build out Google Maps. Actually this is very cleaver of both of these firms.
One large issue is Personal Privacy and Personal Information Management. IF bad people can ever get their hands on this kind of data and information, especially real-time information like this, it can be assumed that personal security issues will abound. Think about “Latch-Key kids”. Think about being away from home on a trip and the house is vacant. Think about corporate espionage as someone is listening to you in a business meeting. The possibilities are endless.
This is very scary and dangerous ground that is being tread here. It will be up to the courts to decide if this will be tolerated. Or more likely, to what degree it will be tolerated.
It is not my place to give judgement, but only to inform. These are very interesting times we live in indeed.
Call to action: Be aware of your personal technology tools, and how they can affect your life, and the lives of your loved ones.
Regards,
Peter
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Peter Gailey
The Personal Information Management Coach
www.PIMCoach.com
