Privacy

Based on the four video I just watched, it can easily be said that the government has too much say in our private lives. 

The third video, Christopher Soghoian's Ted Talk, talked about how the government is upset that

technology companies set encryptions as the default. This affects most people, because most people have phones. If the government takes away encryption technologies on our phones, then they have access to everything. 

I very much agree with this. It definitely is not ok that the government wants to take away encryptions as the default. I believe as US citizens, we should have the right to decide that for ourselves, because it's our private lives. 

The second video, Catherine Crump's Ted Talk, discussed how the police use license plate readers. We don't even see these because they're hidden in/on police cars and around the road. Because of this, the police have access to what we do every day.

However, this is very similar to the fingerprint/DNA database the police have. In a lot of jobs, you must get fingerprinted, and if you take a DNA test, the government now has access to this. But what is the government doing with this information? The answer is nothing. If you haven't committed a crime, the government isn't interested in your DNA or fingerprints. This is the same for license plate readers. These are only in place to stop criminals. The government has no interest in a four-person, law-abiding family.

With all of this being said, if you are a law-abiding citizen, you truly don't have anything to worry about. Yes, the government might have access to all of this information, but they're not using it if you're following the law. There isn't a group of people staring at a camera spying on you specifically because there is so much actual crime in the world. There are better uses than having someone sit at a desk staring at you 24/7.

The fourth video, Darieth Chisolm's Ted Talk, is where this begins to get tricky. She discussed a personal issue with privacy. She said her ex-boyfriend posted naked photos of her on a website where

everyone could see. In addition to this, because there are no laws against this, Chisolm had to go through months in court. This not only meant that even more people had to look at pictures of her naked body, but she had to spend thousands of dollars on a lawyer.

If a law were simply put in place banning what Chisolm went through, she would not have been put in this situation. Just like how assault is illegal, putting intimate photos of your partner should be illegal and punishable with a jail sentence.

Let's not forget that though laws against what Chisolm went through would have made this 8 hundred times easier (and potentially not a problem at all), a bigger issue at hand here is the flaws in our Criminal Justice System. However, that is a much bigger topic for a much longer blog post.

EOTO: Bluetooth

What is Bluetooth?

According to Intel, Bluetooth allows two devices to directly connect without the use of a supporting network infrastructure (wireless). There are 2 types of Bluetooth. First is Bluetooth Classic. Bluetooth Classic is mainly used to connected wireless headphones, speakers, in-car entertainment systems, etc. The second type of Bluetooth is Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE). This is designed for very low powered operations and is often used for high accuracy location services. Recently, Bluetooth LE has been developed so one device can determine where another device is.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is a standards development organization. It is who is responsible for Bluetooth Technology. Their mission is to advance, promote, and protect Bluetooth Technologies. 

Who created Bluetooth?

In 1993, Jaap Haartsen was assigned to find an alternative to short range radio calls. In 1994, he began creating what we now call Bluetooth.

Haartsen was born in the Netherlands in 1963 and studied engineering at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

History

Bluetooth is a huge part of our daily lives. We use it in our cars, during phone calls, to use a computer, and much more. But Bluetooth hasn't always been around. 

According to Auris, Bluetooth uses radio waves to work. In the early 1800s, physicists knew about electromagnetic waves, but it wasn't until 1864 that James Clerk Maxwell came up with the idea that they could be transmitted through the air. Not long after, Heinrich Hertz discovered the unit of frequency. Around 1910, radio waves were used for music stations.

According to National Inventors Hall of Fame, Bluetooth was initially created to find an alternative to wired phone calls. According to Auris, the use of mobile phones grew drastically in the 90s, so scientists wanted to figure out a way to make their use easier. Finally, in 1994, Jaap Haartsen was credited with the invention of Bluetooth Technologies.

How did Bluetooth get its name?

In the year 958, a man named King Harald Gormsson, also known as "Bluetooth," united Denmark and

Norway. Gormsson got his nickname because of a dead tooth he had that was a dark blue color.

Originally, Bluetooth was meant to be a placeholder because the creators didn't have a name for the real thing. Jim Kardach, who helped engineer Bluetooth Technology, suggested the name because they were going to unite the PC and cellular industries.

The Bluetooth team came up with two options for a real name: 1) PAN (Personal Area Networking) or 2) RadioWire. There wasn't enough time to run a full search of the name RadioWire, and when they searched PAN, they realized it had many other meanings. The only option was to use the name Bluetooth. 

Impact of Bluetooth

Whether you're conscious of it or not, Bluetooth is used in your everyday life. We use it to connect to our phones, connect our phones to other devices, monitors, laptops, wireless mice, keyboards, speakers, and headphones. Bluetooth is used in most parts of our everyday lives.

According to Auris, Bluetooth launched its latest update (Bluetooth 5.0) in 2017. This update has allowed Bluetooth to be used at 240 meters, improved compression speeds, allowed for streaming of audio to two different devices at once, and multiplied the broadcasting messaging capacity.

Now, people can use Bluetooth to control certain smart devices, send files, and stream high fidelity audio, whereas before Bluetooth, people used CDs or vinyl records. 

There is still much more that can be done with Bluetooth. We are simply waiting to see what the future has in store.

8 Values of Free Expression

After reading the 8 values of free expression, I would say that the Individual Self-Fulfillment theory is the most important. It suggests that freedom of speech allows you to find your own identity and therefore find like-minded people. Through social media, I believe this is how most people figure out who they are.

Those that play video games will likely have the same beliefs as those they talk to on said video games. Personally, I love student government. A lot of friends I've met through student government share the same beliefs as me, and we can ping pong ideas off one another.

I do not believe that the Protect Dissent theory is as significant in today's society as it once was. Today, if you have a view that is not the majority, or that the majority thinks is ridiculous, you will be ridiculed. No, you will not be arrested, because you are allowed to say what you want under the first amendment. However, most people that do not agree with the majority, will simply not speak due to fear of the consequences.

I agree with the Stable Change Theory. I believe that if Americans aren't able to say what they want to say, they will simply have pent up anger. It's similar to not expressing your feelings: eventually you'll have a breakdown. It's not fair to tell people what they can and can't say. Though people are allowed to say what they want to say, there is still violence.

The Stable Change Theory suggests that because Americans can say what they want to say, they won't resort to violence, but that isn't true. This can be seen from the events on January 6th as well as many other protests that have ended in violence.

A lot of these theories have double meanings because of social media. Participation in Self-Government says that candidates need the right to free speech so citizens can make informed decisions. Years ago, citizens got their information from the news and live streams. However, now, candidates may also use social media to reach their younger delegates. Young people tend not to watch the news and instead get their information from TikTok or Instagram. The only way for candidates to reach those people is by also using TikTok and Instagram. The theory means the same thing, but is used in different ways.

  

The Individual Self-Fulfillment theory is another theory with a double meaning because of social media. A lot of individuals may find people with similar beliefs to them through online chat rooms or websites like Discord. However, members of a church could also be walking around trying to recruit people. Someone may be take a flyer and realize that that church has similar beliefs to them.

The Check on Government Power theory may also utilize social media. The theory suggest that citizens use ballot boxes to criticize the government, however, nowadays, you could reach a much larger audience through different types of social medias.

Additionally, I would like to state that these theories only work if the government follows the protections outlined under the first amendment. As discussed in class, Dr. Bhattacharya was silenced by the Biden administration during Covid, which is illegal under the first amendment. We also discussed Mahmoud Khalil who was arrested, not allowed to speak privately with his lawyers, and is supposed to be deported even though he has not received due process, nor did he do anything illegal. Khalil's actions were all protected under the first amendment.

Supreme Court

Because I am a Criminal Justice major and took many criminal justice classes in high school, there was a lot of information in the videos, Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt. 2 and Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt. 1, that I already knew about. However, there were certain things that stuck out to me.

First, one thing that I didn't know before watching Comm3390 Supreme Court, Pt. 2 was that Supreme Court justices can change their opinions. I assumed that the judges would hear a case and make their decisions right there after an hour or so of deliberation and allowing time to create their decisions. I was unaware that this process took weeks and over the course of that time, justices could choose to change their opinion on a particular case.

I was also shocked to learn that prisoners can write their own writs of certiorari. In the video, the justices explained that a lot of the writs they receive are from prisoners who believe their rights have been violated and therefore write writs from their prison cells.

Another thing I learned from watching the video, is that it takes a few years, after the justices have been appointed, to get adjusted to the new position. Because justices usually come from decades of practice in a courtroom and with the law, I assumed the transition wouldn't be as difficult as it is.

Something that was shocking to learn was that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has argued a large number of cases in front of the Supreme Court before she became a justice. I knew that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the first female justices to serve on the Supreme Court. I also knew that she had to fight hard to get people to treat her the same as her colleagues. However, it was shocking to learn that she had argued that many cases.

My Top 5 Sources of News

1-The Baynet:

The Baynet is a local news source for where I'm from. I am from a very small county, Calvert County, in Southern Maryland. The Baynet is a website that covers news in Southern Maryland. This includes Calvert, St. Mary's, Charles, Anne Arundel, and Prince George's Counties. The news covers everything you need to know: the government, local sports (college, high school, middle school, etc.), crime/criminals, obituaries, etc. I grew up using the Baynet to learn about local news, and still use it today.

2-NFL on FOX:

NFL on FOX is a TV show produced by Fox Sports about NFL happenings. I first found NFL on FOX on TikTok. They would post clips of games while the hosts gave their thoughts on what happened. I became more interested with NFL on FOX once the playoffs came around. They were able to explain it in a way that made sense.

3-NBC:

NBC is the news my family would watch in the morning before school. When I was little, the only thing I concerned myself with was the weather. However, when I got older, I became more interested with everything else they would report on. My family and I had little inside jokes about NBC news. For example, my mom would joke that she wanted to marry one of the hosts. Because this is the news I grew up with, it is often the news I will watch on TV if I happen to want to.

4-ESPN:

I am a huge Ravens fan. My dad is from Baltimore, his mom is a huge Ravens fan, which made him a huge Ravens fan, and therefore made me a huge Ravens fan. When I was younger, ESPN was on all twenty-four hours on football Sundays. It was the only thing we were allowed to watch. Now that I'm older and understand football better, I choose to watch ESPN on TikTok to get important information about the football world.

5-COURIER:

Similar to NFL on FOX, the first time I came across COURIER was on TikTok. Because I am part of a younger generation, I do not enjoy watching news on TV. Though I use TikTok for funny videos, another one of my main purposes for downloading the app was to know what was going on around me. I have learned that COURIER does this in a fun way, and they were created specifically to reach younger generations that use TikTok and Instagram daily. Additionally, COURIER has similar views as I do, which I enjoy seeing.