Eyes and spies How you're tracked and why you should know

Review by Booklist Review

It's impossible to escape today's barrage of video surveillance, social media, and data mining, especially for the 95 percent of North American kids between the ages of 12 and 17 who spend time online. Kyi's accessible yet thought-provoking text examines the increasingly thinning line between security and Big Brother. Using interesting facts, news stories, and research studies many of which involve young people the author explains some of the myriad ways, such as GPS, Facebook likes, and shopping loyalty cards, in which humans and their identifying information and habits are tracked. She presents both pros and cons of these situations, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions and opinions. The Creepy Line scenarios throughout also present actual cases that involve a potential invasion of privacy and ask students to decide whether the boundaries of privacy have been crossed. Digital artwork with bold lines complements this real-world book, which offers suggestions on staying safe online. Whether used for personal awareness or debates, readers will find much to ponder.--Leeper, Angela Copyright 2017 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 7 Up-This highly engaging and eye-opening selection examines the ways in which kids and teens are, and potentially could be, monitored and tracked at school and home, on the street, and online. Kyi successfully conveys the who, what, where, and why of data collection in a variety of situations and, more important, asks students to consider where the line between public and private should be drawn. While this can be a lot of information to take in during one sitting, this work should be required reading for middle and high schoolers. Sidebars routinely ask readers to ponder the benefits of surveillance and tracking from a security and a privacy perspective. The author quotes Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who once stated that he wanted his company to "get right up to the creepy line and not cross it" when it comes to tracking its users, in order to set up "Creepy Line" sections that appear throughout and offer real-life stories through which readers can decide if that nebulous boundary has been crossed. Each section also includes a step that young people can take to increase their personal privacy. The graphic novel-like illustrations are eye-catching and effective in breaking up the dense facts and examples featured. VERDICT "Valuable" is an understatement. A timely read on surveillance and mass data collection for public and school libraries.-Kristy Pasquariello, Wellesley Free Library, MA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

The word "Orwellian" is oddly absent in this chilling look at how we now live in a world of near-constant surveillance and data collection. Kyi examines how information and data about almost everyone are collected and used by individuals, government agencies, companies, and other organizations. She poses three questions to readers: who's watching, and why? Where is the line between public and private? How can you keep your secrets to yourself? These questions are addressed in chapters exploring such subjects as computer surveillance, cyberbullying, data mining, and personal privacy. There is discussion of such surveillance technologies as drones, GPS, and RFID tags. Although there is little here that does not seem creepy, "Creepy Line" sidebars in each chapter highlight controversial real-life scenarios and ask readers where they would set their own boundaries. That label refers to a statement from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who said the company's policy was "to get right up to the creepy line and not cross it." There are also ongoing arguments posed for both increased security and increased privacy, encouraging readers to think critically about the issues. Though there are plenty of issues worthy of attention not addressed here, this lively effort serves well as a revealing, thoughtful, and provocative introduction to a complex subject and alarming realities. (further reading, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Introduction: Eyes and SpiesImagine you're a secret agent assigned to track someone. How will you do it? Hide in a doorway across the street from his house and wait for him to emerge? Then you can shadow him as he walks to school, or work, or a friend's place. You might even slip into a restaurant booth near where he's eating and eavesdrop on his conversations.Maybe ... if you're pretending to be in a classic detective movie. In real life--21st-century life--there's no need for all that sneaking around. The person you're tracking is probably carrying a smartphone, so his phone manufacturer, his Internet provider, and a few app designers all know where he is, every moment of every day. As a government operative, you can request those records directly from the companies.And snooping around in a restaurant is plain silly. Why not monitor his emails instead? You can use security cameras to track his movements, and scanners to watch his car. Scroll through his tweets to see who's meeting him, or where he's heading.You can probably find his address, phone number, and photo online, plus a list of his Facebook friends and maybe even some invitations to local events. You might read about him in a school newspaper article or in a list of sports results. It won't be hard to paint a picture of his daily life.The ability to easily gather all that information about someone seems a little creepy. But you're a secret agent on official government business. You'll only be searching the Internet for the names of terrorists and criminals. Right?Not necessarily.Because computers can collect billions of items of information about every single one of us, and scan that information for patterns, we're all being "watched." Yes, governments track us so they can pinpoint terrorism suspects. But lots of other people and organizations are also trying to find out who we are and what we do. Corporations analyze our preferences and habits so they can tailor their advertising. Police forces monitor our movements so they can target crime more effectively. In many cases, we're even tracking ourselves, then releasing our data to the world.Some people think that's fine. After all, there are huge benefits to sharing things over the Internet. We meet new friends through social media, spread information, and exchange viewpoints. We market our music or art. By listing our location, we learn about nearby stores or events. It's often fun to share things freely and make our thoughts and ideas public.Besides, many people believe that surveillance makes everyone safer.[Security Guard icon]If you're not doing anything wrong, it doesn't matter who's watching.[Body Text]Is that true?If someone decided to stand on his bed, use his hairbrush as a microphone, and lip-synch to the latest episode of The Voice, would he want people peeking at him through his laptop's webcam? Probably not! What if a girl texted a friend about her most recent crush? Would she want other people reading that message?Or what about this ...Imagine you're shopping in a posh department store, and you take a selfie posing in a fur coat made from endangered zebralope pelts. You send it to your frenemy, who puts the photo online. Okay, that's silly, but it's not world-ending. Unless ... 10 or 20 years from now, you decide you'd like to be Minister for the Environment. Or head of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Then the media finds your old photo on the Internet and reposts it for all to see![Privacy Activist icon]Sometimes, private jokes should stay private, photos should stay in our own personal albums, and our emails should go unread by the wider world.[Sidebar 0.1]The Creepy LineIn 2010, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, said that his company's policy was to "get right up to the creepy line and not cross it." For example, you might feel okay about the company keeping track of your Google searches. But what if a Google employee turned up at your door with McDonald's coupons after you searched "hamburgers"? That would seem invasive.This whole idea raises some questions.• Where exactly is the "creepy line"?• Would everyone draw it in the same place?• Who should decide?The Creepy Line sections throughout this book will ask you to consider where you might set the boundaries, if you ruled the world.[Subhead]Smile--You're on Camera!The way we act when we know we're being watched is different from the way we act when we're alone. Scientists say that when people are in groups, or under surveillance, we tend to conform. We're more careful, and more likely to act the way everyone else does. We don't necessarily experiment with new ideas.Way back in 1791, Jeremy Bentham designed what he thought would be the ideal prison. He called it the panopticon. It was a circular structure built around a central core. The prisoners' cells lined the outer ring. From the center, the guards could see any prisoner at any time.Jeremy suggested that, because the prisoners had no way of knowing when they were being monitored, they would have to behave at all times as if the guards were watching. They would then self-reform into model citizens.Jeremy's prison was never built, but some privacy activists say we now live in a "digital panopticon." As we shop online or post on social media, we know that others are tracking and judging our lives. That "I'm being watched" feeling can affect the way we live and think. We might start to pick and choose what we post in order to project a certain image of ourselves. We might behave more carefully and try to blend in better with our friends. Some people worry that when we know we're being observed, it can change the events we choose to attend, the causes we champion, or the politicians we support. Imagine you see this story in the news: "Government Spy Caught Posing as Member of Local Environmental Group." You might think twice about joining that group, even if you believe in their campaigns.The following pages delve into the ways we're monitored, from the number of footsteps we take each day, to the fast-food companies we "like" on Facebook, to the things we flush down the toilet. Each chapter asks three simple questions:1. Who's watching, and why?2. Where is the line between public and private?3. How can you keep your secrets to yourself? Excerpted from Eyes and Spies: How You're Tracked and Why You Should Know by Tanya Lloyd Kyi All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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