How concerned are you about your digital privacy? To the best of your knowledge, has your online privacy ever been breached or compromised?
In the article “In a Stumble for Apple, a FaceTime Bug Lets iPhone Users Eavesdrop,” Brian X. Chen writes:
The iPhone as an eavesdropping device? Watch out. It can happen.
On Monday, Twitter and other social networking sites lit up with anxious Apple users after the news site 9to5Mac reported on a strange glitch in the company’s iPhones. The issue: It turns out that an iPhone user can call another iPhone user and listen in on that person’s conversations through the device’s microphone — even if the recipient does not answer the call.
The problem was the result of a bug and involves Apple’s FaceTime app for placing video and audio calls over an internet connection. The bug could also give a caller access to a live feed of the recipient’s camera.
On Monday night, Apple said it had disabled Group FaceTime, the feature that was causing the glitch.
The glitch is embarrassing for Apple, which is set to report disappointing financial earnings on Tuesday. The Silicon Valley company has long positioned itself as a protector of user privacy offering more secure devices than its rivals.
Students, read the entire article, then tell us:
— How safe is your privacy in the age of digital technology?
— Have you ever used FaceTime? If yes, how concerned are you that someone might have been eavesdropping?
— The FaceTime glitch is one of many recent digital privacy breaches that have come to light. We have learned that game and cellphone apps have gathered data on users that has been shared with advertisers and online tracking companies. Facebook disclosed that it has given access to user information to major tech companies, including Yahoo and Netflix. How big a problem is digital privacy and security? Will these and other recent revelations change your tech behavior? Why or why not?
— How much do you trust tech companies with your private information? Should tech companies do more to protect our privacy? Or does the responsibility fall to users?
— Should the government do more to regulate digital privacy? Or do you worry that more government regulation will stifle innovation in the tech industry?
Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
