‘Dragnet Nation’

Bill Moyers interviews Julia Angwin about her book, Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance. Angwin, less for personal reasons than for protection of her sources as a journalist, made an attempt to, so to speak, drop out of her exposure to the constant government and private sector data mining to which every American (yes, overwhelmingly, such exposure is an American phenomenon, because other major democracies offer their citizens legal protection) is subjected.

The short version of her conclusion of how you can come closest to dodging the data miners (acknowledging there is no way to avoid them altogether): CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS, frequently and relentlessly, and I might add, not according to any system or fixed schedule. I know exactly one person among my friends IRL and OL who actually does this with real commitment, and I suspect s/he comes as close as any living American to being beyond the reach of the data miners. I am not that person. My commitment varies with what I perceive is my actual liability if I am hacked; that's the basis on which I decide how often to change any given password. And I am committed to choosing good passwords in the first place. But I am certain I am in hundreds if not thousands of commercial databases, if for no other reason than that a disabled person can't afford not to avail him- or herself of the sheer physical convenience of, say, shopping on Amazon. It's a trade-off I make, somewhat reluctantly but premeditatedly. Be sure you make similar decisions about your own exposure. The realities of both law and connectivity are against you, but you may as well minimize your liability as best you can.