Sally calls and sounds very worried. She indicates that the state of Florida is considering legislation to restrict employers from accessing the social media accounts of employees and prospective employees. You reply, “That’s bad! It’s probably the result of the senator that had his account hacked, and he was doubled-exposed, causing him to lose the election for Governor. It appears he was hacked by “hacktivists” through the Senate’s dedicated Human Resource Web account. Sally says I know that you built the entire HR background check system for new hires and employees on the network you invented. Yes, you say, and if the state passes legislation to block access for employers, it will trigger a 30% increase in HR costs and trigger potential legal liability for negligent hiring claims because we will have to rely on out-sourced background checks. Our system can check and crosscheck all associate social media applicant accounts, perform facial recognition searches, and search worldwide all deleted files going back 20 years. Sally states, “that’s a little overkill, don’t you think?” You respond, “Yea, but wow! Gee, I thought you would appreciate that considering you graduated from the CIA!”
You can find information about someone through a simple Internet search. Many Internet users neglect the potential negative consequences of their online activities.
This system is the best way to avoid hiring and rehiring employees who don’t fit the employee profile we are looking for to staff our restaurant. Sally responds that she agrees and suggests you research the other State’s Legislation to determine if any current legislation that will prohibit our use. “Boy-oh-boy, some people just don’t understand that no one cares about privacy anymore. If they did, why would so many people expose themselves on the Internet? It’s not like privacy is a constitutional right!”
You state, “Sally, I know you’re just kidding. But you are right; it’s not in the United States Constitution. The Constitution does not contain any explicit right to privacy. However, The Bill of Rights expresses the concerns of James Madison, along with other framers of the Constitution for protecting certain aspects of privacy. The issue of whether the Constitution protects the right to privacy in ways not described in the Bill of Rights is a controversial subject. Originalist debate whether there is any general right to privacy within the Constitution. However, as early as 1923, the Supreme Court, recognized through decisions that the liberty given in the 14th Amendment guarantees a relatively broad right to privacy.”
answer the following
“With every Internet company collecting more information on you than the CIA, (No, Sally, the real one, not your school, The Culinary Institute of America), how can anyone ever expect the right to privacy?” Sally then snapped, “We better look into this right away, as there may be more to this than we think, not only that,” Sally added, “our Table-Ordering and “TablePay” APP’s design necessitates access to customer’s mobile devices so they can take selfies to post all their table fun to our Blog and connect with our system each time customers access the device. Our advertising and marketing systems are on the same platform. We may not be able to use the facial recognition drive-by, and systems activated when you walk-by a screen and start focused advertising from the street infrastructure system to promote the restaurant. We could end up losing a lot of revenue. You add, “Also remember we are launching your “Streaming Cooking Channel Network (SCCN)” webpage on that very same device. Sally replies, “Oh my, this is serious!”
What is your view of the impact of the Internet on your life?
Should Internet users have a Right to Privacy? If not, does the lack of privacy have any influence on how you use the Internet?
Should employers have access to your complete history on the Internet? How about employment information?
Should the government have unlimited access to everyone’s information on the Internet? How about Big Tech, should they be in charge of your data?
Should businesses, individuals, police, and the government have access to facial recognition capabilities? Or, should it be banned entirely or controlled through due process of the law (warrant- only used where probable cause exists)?
Should Internet companies be permitted to censor information, opinions, pictures, based on company policies and editors’ beliefs? Or, should the companies leave censorship to the users and posters?
Should Internet users have access to an app that allows users to send junk mail bombs back through the Internet to junk mail originators, blasting them with messages to “Stop the Traffic?” Sort of like an Internet protest rally?
Should there be a separate non-commercial Internet for users that do not want the volume of traffic of unsolicited traffic, data collection, or tracking devices following you wherever you go?
Should there be a children’s Internet with full parental values control that restricts Internet use and down traffic access? Or is the “Off Button” enough?
Should Big Tech be protected from violating your constitutional rights?
Develop a detailed “Pro and Con” chart covering six areas from the legislation list passed by other states and the potential impact the legislation if it existed in Florida. In other words, pick 6 pro’s and con’s from the various states and how they would apply to Sally’s restaurant.
