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It may be necessary − by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and
governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence − for Apple to disclose your
personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes
of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary
or appropriate.

At the end of the day, there are few companies that are able to take a stance against big
government agencies. The best you can hope for is providers who don’t bury this in privacy
agreements, but who are upfront and honest about their current operations as they relate to the
surveillance state.

What could go wrong? Why should I care?

As an infamous activist once said, “Arguing that you don’t care about privacy because you have
nothing to hide is not different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have
nothing to say.”

But if that’s not reason enough to get up in arms, there are
a number of practical concerns to consider. First and
foremost, you don’t know which ad networks this data is
going to, and you don’t know what their policies for dealing
with this very private information are.

What happens in the event of a hack? You might feel safe if
your information is with a big company like Microsoft, which
undoubtedly has major systems in place to protect your
data, but do you really trust any of Microsoft’s ad network
customers? A hacker could trace these transactions and
conduct a large-scale hack just by finding a single
vulnerability in this line of data transfer.

You might say you have nothing to hide, and that the only person who does is clearly breaking the
law. If that’s truly the case, why don’t you leave your bank account details in the comments below?

The real truth: Microsoft isn’t the only bad guy

Shifting tides in modern culture have created two dangerous and commonly accepted thoughts on
digital privacy, which could make you think that:

1. Privacy must be compromised for safety.
2. Privacy must be compromised for convenience.

While there are serious debates on the subject, it’s important to stop and wonder who is ultimately
responsible for these ideas, which create the basis for how many companies, institutions, and
individuals make their decisions about privacy.

47 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – September 2015 Edition
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