Surveillance

Social Security Pinged Your Inbox Four Days Before the Election

“Under President Donald J. Trump, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is transforming into a model of excellence, one that meets and exceeds customer expectations for fast, accurate, and secure service.”

That is the first line of an email the Social Security Administration sent me, and likely millions of other Americans, four days before the midterm election. It was a victory lap: shorter wait times, more online accounts, nothing for me to do, no deadline, no change to my benefits. It also reports back when I open it, roughly where I am when I do, and every link I click. So why does a press release need to know if, when and where I opened it?

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That Feeling That Email Is Watching You Isn't Paranoia

Imagine a letter arrives in your mailbox. Ordinary envelope, nothing remarkable about it. Except taped inside the flap is a small device: the moment you open the envelope, it reports back to the sender the exact time and your location. Not because you asked for that. Not because you agreed to it. Because they wanted to know, and the technology to find out was cheap enough to include.

We’d call that a crime. Tampering, surveillance, something. Nobody would accept “well, you opened the envelope” as a defense.

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