Is big brother watching you?

As we upload, tweet, update, comment, and consume our digital lives away it seems our definition of a reasonable search and seizure has a need for scrutiny.

What constitutes a reasonable search in the digital age?

The London Telegraph reports the use of a small “flying saucer” drone camera with video, thermal, and night vision capability to crackdown on gun and gang crime, as well as against “anti-social behavior”.

The Army is currently taking a far more intrusive approach.

The development of a 2.3 gigapixel camera for drone use will soon become the “Cadillac” of many models of Darpa’s ARGUS-IS surveillance system. The new camera will boast a 40 kilometer range with ability to watch people on foot, along with moving indicators for vehicles. How do “persons, houses, papers, and effects” compete with a drone?

The private exchange of goods and information seems to erode as our hunger for digital media grows larger.

Google is currently building a massive digital library which can record what books you read and even how long you stay on a particular page. Debit cards, PayPal, and internet banking are quickly replacing the anonymous cash transaction; in fact, Elyria High School students, starting this year, bio-metrically scan their fingers to pay for lunch.

The American “nothing to hide” thought processes may be a significant nail in the coffin of the 4th amendment, because as most of you already know, rights are only taken, never given.

It has also recently been discovered the Whitehouse website has been using cookies and web bugs to track visitors. The Whitehouse internet director, David Almacy, claimed that they were unaware that an outside contractor was using such devices.

Facebook is now facing lawsuits from users claiming that the company is nothing more than a data mining site, selling personal information to third party advertisers. Does my right to be secure in my effects include my Facebook status?

The government is also connecting to constituents with the web and social media with Whitehouse and Congress on the majority of popular networking sites. This gives them complete control of their own media. Touted as a means of communication to constituents, could social media be used to cut out the middle man of the media?

What do you think? Do our rights speak in binary code? Does search and seizure mean track and scan?

Let me know in a comment below or send me an email and remember: I’ll be watching.

You can leave the author a moderated comment about this article by posting it below, or email: justin@big3news.net

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