Privacy Is a Civic Right, Not Just a Tech Fix

We we round out the end of October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we wanted to ensure instead of just tips about passwords or phishing scams, we talk about the real stakes: privacy as a civic right, not a software feature. In the world of constant data collection, protecting that right means confronting the systems and incentives that profit from our personal lives. The Real Story Behind Data Collection Every time you use a phone, apply for a job, or walk past a camera, someone may be collecting data about you. But it’s not just about “bad actors” or rogue hackers: it’s about business models and government partnerships that rely on surveillance. Tech giants own the servers. Only a few companies control the tools that make artificial intelligence work. Financial firms and law enforcement agencies often have aligned interests in tracking people. These aren’t glitches. They’re features of a system that values control over care. Who Makes the Rules And Who Breaks Them? Right now, privacy laws often sound good on paper but fall short in practice. Why? Because the people collecting your data usually aren’t the ones facing real consequences when they misuse it. Companies can bury consent in fine print, or claim that data “anonymization” protects you, when it often doesn’t. We need enforcement with teeth. That means naming who’s responsible when rights are violated: data brokers, ad-tech firms, and yes, the public agencies that buy this data. It also means creating real consequences—fines that matter, audits that are public, and rules that can’t be sidestepped with clever wording. How Did We Get Here? Today’s surveillance systems didn’t appear overnight. Years of weak rules and powerful lobbying gave us this reality. From the Patriot Act to current AI tools used in policing and welfare screening, many of the systems watching us were built without public input or even public awareness. Looking forward, we’re at a tipping point. Choices we make now, about who can access…