The way child welfare misuses big data would make Cambridge Analytica blush
One massive leak of middle-class Americans’ data seems to have the whole world in an uproar.
A firm known as Cambridge Analytica allegedly improperly obtained personal information given to Facebook by 50 million people. Then, according to The New York Times, “The firm, which was tied to President Trump’s 2016 campaign, used the data to target messages to voters.”
The data were offered to Facebook voluntarily. Now that Facebook apparently failed to keep it secure, some Americans are exercising their right to delete their Facebook accounts. Others are exercising their right to share less information on Facebook.
But if this one leak causes so much outrage — outrage that is entirely justified — can you imagine what would happen if, say, people were forced to surrender vast amounts of personal data and a big government agency could use those data to investigate them and even take away their children?
Why if that ever happened the outrage would be — well, actually, it would be almost nonexistent.
Because it’s already happening in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania.
