Hoback Terms And Conditions

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In 2009, Game Station, a prominent store for virtual gaming, altered its terms and conditions for one day. On this day, the 7,000 people who accepted the Terms and Conditions granted the company a “non-transferable option to claim their non-immortal soul” (Terms and Conditions May Apply). In Terms and Conditions May Apply, a documentary, the narrator, Cullen Hoback, explicates the unwarranted invasion of personal information that occurs every day due to hidden amendments in websites’ Terms and Conditions. He covers many topics surrounding Terms and Conditions, including the monopolization of companies due to intrusion on personal information and politicians having to answer the call of the American people for greater privacy policies. While …show more content…

A key component in Hoback’s narration is the use of personal testimonies to establish the overly controlling government. Hoback interviews a seventh-grade boy, Vito, who was interrogated by the secret service due to a social media post he had made, and his mother. Feeling worried about President Obama, Vito had tweeted that the President needed to be extra cautious for “suicide bombers” (Terms and Conditions May Apply). The government did not consider his age, or that his comment about Obama needing to watch out was one of concern. The machine simply determined that based on a series of words, Vito was a potential threat. Hoback further establishes his argument through Joe Lipari’s testimony. After a long, unfulfilling day at the Apple store, Lipari decided to unwind with the movie Fight Club and social media. Quoting the movie, Lipari changed his Facebook status to read: “Might snap and then stalk to the Apple store with an Armalite AR-10” (Terms and Conditions May Apply). Almost immediately after changing his status, NYPD S.W.A.T knocked on his door and pillaged his house. When Lipari asked them how they knew about his status update, the police claimed on of his “Facebook friends called 911” (cite); however, there was no record of such a 911 call. After this was established they said someone came into the police station; once again, Lipari debunked this theory because his location was not a subject many knew about: he had not even updated his mailing address yet. No crimes were committed in these cases, yet both citizens will have to face court for over year. The answer is not to take away the capacity of looking at the public actions of citizens and keeping a record of them. The solution is to make sure that elect better

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