The Black Box: Consent Without Knowledge

Recently some information came my way that I find disturbing, to say the least. The purpose of this article is to increase awareness of a societal condition I call "Consent without Knowledge" or The Black Box, as in the ultimate black box. The traditional definition of "black box" is a device, technology, mechanism or a system that is in common use (part of every day life) but most people do not understand the inter workings of them. In other words, what makes the black box tick. I will use this definition to refer to black box (small letters). The Black Box (capital letters) refers the digital society in which we live that just by purchasing a product, using a search engine, dining at a restaurant, and driving a vehicle we have consented to be tagged and tracked without knowing we gave our consent.

Not only are you are being tagged and tracked; the information produced from this enterprise can and will be used against you in a court of law. How can we give consent without knowledge? Vehicles with airbags have an event data recorder (EDR or black box) that collects data on the vehicle such as, how fast the vehicle was travelling, engine data, and braking data before the airbag was deployed. This information is very useful to determine who was at fault in the event of an accident. Additionally, the police, and the prosecution will use this information against the guilty party in a court of law. That's great news for law enforcement and the innocent party.

So what's wrong with using the information to prosecute the guilty party? Nothing. The issue is the information used against the guilty party was collected from his/her own vehicle without his/her knowledge. My problem with this is, owners of vehicles with airbags should be informed about the EDR and the legal implications thereof. Consumers are unaware of information collected about them that can subsequently be used against them in a court of law.

Now that you know your vehicle has a black box that records data about your vehicle before and after the airbag is deployed, will you drive 60 MPH in a 45 MPH zone? Will you tailgate? Will you drive aggressively causing another vehicle to have an accident? Are you willing to alter your driving behavior to prevent accidents? The argument that the EDR aids law enforcement to perform their jobs better is tenuous because when the police get involved, the accident has already happened. The police did not prevent the accident. The black box makes it easier for the police to determine the cause of the accident and easier for the prosecution to prosecute. Did the police do their jobs better? Did the prosecution do its job better? Are you willing to be tagged and tracked for the sake of making law enforcement easier?

These are questions we, as a society, must decide. Before we can answer these questions, we need to be aware of all the different technologies, electronic devices, and cameras that tag and track us every single day. Many of these technologies and devices are useful tools for law enforcement. If we become a society in which our every move is recorded by an electronic device, our images captured on digital media and stored in a database somewhere, are we still a "free" society? Are we willing to flout the advice of Benjamin Franklin when he stated, "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security." I implore everyone to watch the CNBC documentary "Big Brother Big Business." I would like to invite all readers of this article to share their thoughts, comments, and suggestions. I would like to start an intelligent, thoughtful public discourse on security versus privacy; and the tradeoff this necessitates. I plan for this article to be the first in a series on The Black Box: Consent Without Knowledge.

The next question is can the police use a modified version of the EDR to monitor traffic? Possibly. If auto manufacturers add a smarter microchip to the EDR that is capable of tracking vehicles in real-time, it is possible for the police to remotely monitor traffic. If the data shows a vehicle exceeding the speed limit, the police can send (or e-mail) a speeding ticket to the driver.

Why should I worry when I have nothing to hide? It is not about having something to hide but the fundamental right to privacy, or at least, the awareness of technologies that tag and track you just by utilizing them.

Works Cited

CNBC. (2009 23-July). Big Brother Big Business. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.