Levesque,+Michelle

=**Guest Speaker: Michelle Levesque**=
 * February 7th, 2006**



//MICHELLE LEVESQUE//
[|Michelle's Power Point Presentation]toc


 * Hired by Google- as a programmer
 * Currently works at a Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto: Political science and Computer science students
 * Political science background from colleagues, specializes in computer science.
 * Posses the question: How much have new technologies changed the world of surveillance?

Current: Post 911 world: has created a need for more surveillance in our world

=**Historically=:
 * Slave passes given out by the US government.
 * This was one of the first forms of surveillance implemented by the government.
 * Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882
 * back then people had to keep track of information manually
 * today all of this has changed dur to the technology that makes it easier and cheaper to do so
 * today all of this has changed dur to the technology that makes it easier and cheaper to do so

=**WHAT IS NEW…**=
 * The size of databases
 * Technology that makes it easier and cheaper
 * Its not just the government anymore. – the government used to be the only one that did surveillance. Now everyday normal people can do it too.
 * Confusion about what is and isn’t possible.
 * Internet surveillance and censorship go hand and hand.
 * Surveillance+ Censorship= Love
 * Surveillance once in place makes censorship really easy to do
 * Internet Surveillance example:
 * Youàbell simpaticoà southern Ontario Backboneà UK backboneà British Telecomà news. Bbc.com
 * Location of Surveillance on your own pc.
 * (Example. Keystroke logging).
 * Tapping into you computer by tracking what you type. (a wire that goes on another) used by the FBI as an example.
 * Trojan horse/spyware
 * Google(information wealth) as an example collect information and the sites that you go into.
 * Internet service providers: ex. Bell, Rogers etc.
 * We put faith in our internet provider that they don’t do anything malicious.
 * There's alot of delegation and responsibility given to ISPs
 * (Example of India's ISPs blocking the webpage on YAHOO! that was run by a terrorist group. The ISPs in India were given the responsibility of blocking that webpage and instead of blocking it on a national level, they blocked it by isps, all of yahoo where it was hosted—no one in India could access yahoo)
 * they need to keep logs of what people go see
 * Altivore/Carnivore: exists to filter what is being heard. (this device is able to target specific people)
 * This software was designed to capture alot of information
 * There are legal issues with these types of software
 * They need to realize they can't capture everything

=**How do you defend yourself for being watched:**=
 * Download Firefox
 * If it starts with HTTPS: they cant listen to your traffic 
 * Work on changing policies
 * Be aware !!!
 * Disney world : a place for children, promote fun, has now switched to high surveillance had to get finger printed to get in
 * You get personal id card upon entry
 * a company has the power to do invasive searches at their own will. If one does not like the policies, they have the option of just not entering.
 * Disney now with this information can do what ever they want with the information.
 * Tracking devices in jails (wristbands) = the lose of privacy
 * Can track inmates and their emotions
 * RFID- tiny chip and antenna (ETR 407)
 * A lot of stores like Walmart use this chip—they are able to track their products
 * improve life but removes your privacy*
 * Google: good example where information can be found
 * China Surveillance – internet police (surveillance worldwide)
 * estimated about 30,000 chinese internet police
 * This was obviously not true, they have only a few
 * This number is not being corrected by the government becase it serves its purpose- this leads to "self-censorhip"
 * They just need a few high profile cases to scare people
 * No one has ever been arrested for looking at child pornography.