Don't touch my Facebook

“Don’t touch my Facebook!” This is what anyone concerned with their privacy on social media would say to others who look at their so-called private pages. But why would they be concerned? The National Security Administration is threatening to spy on your Facebook page. This revelation has been suspected for a long time but was revealed in documents to the New York Times on Sept. 2013. Karen Greenburg, Center for National Security Director at Fordham Law School, told CNN, “We assume as Americans that if somebody in the government is looking at your information, it's because they have a reason, because you're suspected of a crime,” (N.Y. Times, 2013, http://bit.ly/1bFHTDF). However, the article states that those specific documents leaked by former NSA agent Edward Snowden did not specify that if you were being spied on by the NSA meant that you were being suspected of a crime.

            Tufts University defines social media as, “The means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks,” (Tufts University, 2013, http://bit.ly/1bFI4yQ). Some social media sites that are widely used, such as, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These social media sites are used amongst a large population throughout the country. The issue that I am debating asks if it is okay for the U.S. Government to have access to this kind of information.

            A storm trooper from Star Wars is threatening folks who look at his Facebook. These storm troopers are part of a larger army as is evidenced by the ship that carries them. This also represents the idea that the spying of social media not only applies to individuals, but groups as well.

            There is some gray area when you look specifically at Facebook because there are settings that you can use where much of your information becomes private. However, most people do not read the terms and conditions. Somewhere in the terms and conditions, it states that whatever you post becomes the property of Facebook. As technology improves and this practice by the government rapidly increases it will be interesting to see the response by Americans.  

REFERENCES

"NSA uses social media to map connections of Americans." The Economic Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-09-30/news/42536816_1_nsa-us-national-security-agency-americans-and-foreigners>.

"http://www.tufts.edu." Social Media Overview. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. <http://webcomm.tufts.edu/social-media-overview13/>.