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It continues to amaze me how easily and nonchalantly terms like "near-field communications", "enhanced image technology" and the like are accepted by the genera

It continues to amaze me how easily and nonchalantly terms like "near-field communications", "enhanced image technology" and the like are accepted by the general public without raising concern or question as to their intent or necessity. We live in a world where technology has provided us with amazing advancements and benefits, but it continually butts up against the privacy that we are supposedly guaranteed as citizens of the US (yes, I am only talking about America here since I'm not familiar w/ the laws 'n liberties of other countries). Privacy is a pluralistic concept that must be practiced on a daily basis if it is to survive amongst the constant barrage of "features" being sold to us. I want someone to be able to read the RFID software running on my Droid without my explicit consent no more than I want them to take naked pictures of me when I have shown no possible indication that I have an intent on hurting others. Sure, turn your wifi/APN/Bluetooth/GPS off and only turn them on when you want to use them (ignoring the battery issues), but this treats our right to privacy as the alternate option, not the default one. I shouldn't have to be forced on a daily basis to constantly defend my default option of privacy, but I am. Do I use credit cards and have GPS turned on? Sure. Does that make me a hypocrite? Absolutely not. It's my right to choose when and how I allow someone into 'my world' and every time that choice is either not provided or taken away from me by default, the balance between privacy, publicity, and secrecy is thrown.

brianmwang 16y ago
Are you sure you're not drawing both a strawman argument and false dichotomy here with respect to near-field communications? While I can't speak with authority on how it'll be implemented, what makes you think that the use of NFC will be without your explicit consent? How is this any different than one taking out a credit card and swiping it at a machine? Regarding WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS... these options aren't default on my Nexus One. I control when I want to use these features. Barring the cases of strange backdoors and apps secretly grabbing your data, I'm not sure what the issue here is.
- dolinsky 16y ago
  > While I can't speak with authority on how it'll be implemented, what makes you think that the use of NFC will be without your explicit consent? It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I am not singling Google out here, and there most definitely is no strawman argument being made. One need only look at the 'opt-out' world that we live in to see that our privacy is often trumped by what someone else believes will be in our best interest. W/R/T NFC, I liken it to the idea of having a phone number. Yes, I have a phone, but no, that doesn't mean that you can call me if you get a hold of my number. Imagine if you got a phone call from an ice cream store every time you walked by it on a warm day..."Hey man, it's hot outside, c'mon in for some ice cream!". Those of us who control options such as WiFi/BT/GPS on our phones, we're in the minority. The vast majority of people can't be bothered with toggling these features on and off and don't understand the reasons for doing so.

brianmwang 16y ago

Are you sure you're not drawing both a strawman argument and false dichotomy here with respect to near-field communications? While I can't speak with authority on how it'll be implemented, what makes you think that the use of NFC will be without your explicit consent? How is this any different than one taking out a credit card and swiping it at a machine? Regarding WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS... these options aren't default on my Nexus One. I control when I want to use these features. Barring the cases of strange backdoors and apps secretly grabbing your data, I'm not sure what the issue here is.

dolinsky 16y ago
> While I can't speak with authority on how it'll be implemented, what makes you think that the use of NFC will be without your explicit consent? It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. I am not singling Google out here, and there most definitely is no strawman argument being made. One need only look at the 'opt-out' world that we live in to see that our privacy is often trumped by what someone else believes will be in our best interest. W/R/T NFC, I liken it to the idea of having a phone number. Yes, I have a phone, but no, that doesn't mean that you can call me if you get a hold of my number. Imagine if you got a phone call from an ice cream store every time you walked by it on a warm day..."Hey man, it's hot outside, c'mon in for some ice cream!". Those of us who control options such as WiFi/BT/GPS on our phones, we're in the minority. The vast majority of people can't be bothered with toggling these features on and off and don't understand the reasons for doing so.