Do You Mind Having Your E-Mails Looked At?

... apparently most, if not all, e-mail companies scan all e-mails for keywords which are used to target consumers with advertising. the implication here is that should they want to, e-mail companies as well as the authorities can read your messages any time they wish ...

... how do you feel about this? do you feel it's a violation of your rights to have your e-mails looked at? or do you think it's a good thing? perhaps you like seeing pop-up ads for things you're interested in?

... comments?

 

Yes, it makes me very angry, and there should be laws making this a criminal offense. I don't mind the FBI or the CIA scanning my mail in wartime. Some loss of privacy is necessary when the country is in danger. But private companies? Put their executives in jail.

 

... i agree, Vivek. and i thank you for your reply. however, i don't think the authorities should be able to invade our privacy under ANY circumstances. i just don't see the people in government as the good guys. their reasons for attacking our privacy are always nefarious and wrong ...

 

The way email technology is, the only way for you to avoid having your email scanned is if you use some third party encryption technology to encrypt the email before you send it. Then have the recipient decrypt the message after it arrives.

I don't think that scanning my email to send me targeted ads is invading my privacy. I would find it an invasion of my privacy if the company published the contents of my personal emails publicly. With regard to scanning email for ads, the process tends to be automated. It's not an actual person who reads my emails and then decides what ads to show me.

Back in the days of the telegraph, you would actually have to give your message to the telegraph operator who then sends the message. The operator at the other end also knows the contents of the message because he needs to transcribe the message to the recipient. That would be more of an invasion of privacy than automated email scanning. What if the message you are sending is about one of the telegraph operators that you don't want him to know about?

 

Law enforcement has to have reasonable cause to do surveillance in order to obtain evidence against suspects. As much as people may not fully trust law enforcement, the do on occasion find perpetrators of crimes and bring them to justice. Sometimes, the do need to resort to some sore of surveillance in order to obtain enough evidence to get a conviction. If you take some of the law enforcement tools away, crime may increase due to weaker enforcement.

 

Exactly. Plus the fact that in wartime situations government has the right to curtail or limit certain liberties and privacy. The war on terror is a serious matter, and government is walking a tightrope between democracy and security. No-one blaming our government ----- that's like blaming Roosevelt for World War Two.

 

... thanks for your reply, Stuntman. however, this tactic of treating the ENTIRE population like it's under suspicion of criminal behavior under the guise of supposedly thwarting possible crime amounts to an outrageous violation of everyone's civil liberties. it is illegal and unconstitutional. and i'm sorry, but your notion that crime might increase if the government isn't allowed to look at our e-mails is absurd ...

 

No way. That is a violation of privacy.

 

" As much as people may not fully trust law enforcement, the do on occasion find perpetrators of crimes and bring them to justice. Sometimes, the do need to resort to some sore of surveillance in order to obtain enough evidence to get a conviction. "

The same argument would apply to entering someone's domicile but in most cases police would still need a warrant.

 

In normal times security is no excuse for bending the Constitution. But in times of war or emergency, yes. Liberties can be curtailed to the extent that is arguably necessary.

 

Compared to what the NSA, CSIS and the rest of the "Five Eyes" do, a computer analyzing my emails for advertising purposes is no big deal.

 

... i tend to agree. in fact, if it's just for advertising purposes then it could almost be considered helpful in a way. thank you for your reply ...

 

Of course, I would expect that law enforcement to demonstrate the need for invasive surveillance beforehand.

There are also other benefits to the user for certain type of email analysis. I use the SwiftKey third party keyboard on my phone. SwiftKey scans my emails and social media posts in addition to analysing my keystrokes in order to improve the accuracy of its auto-correct/text prediction. It studies my writing style and in doing so, auto customises to the way I type on my phone.

 

At Hollywood Fort Lauderdale Airport, a security lady apologized for having to make me take my shoes off at the checkpoint. I told her "Ma'am, I'd much rather have a nice person take off my shoes down here than have a nasty terrorist blow my legs off up there."