Metadata: What is it, and why the government has NO right to yours

It seems as though the struggle between people and government over Internet and cellular privacy has finally found a slogan, or at least a hot-button word to describe exactly what the government has been collecting about each and every one of our private lives: metadata. No, it's not "real" data in the traditional sense, it's metadata. Or "data about the data."

Although I am as confident about my knowledge of technology and cell phone usage as any 21st century teen (i.e. extremely confident), I must admit the word 'metadata' stumped me. After some research, and a bit of reading between the lines, I came to understand that the difference between metadata and data lies in the text. Metadata shows that you called your sister at 5:30pm from your house. Data can tell you what was actually said in that call. Same goes for email. Metadata shows who you email but not the actual correspondence. Politicians love to emphasize this distinction, and have used it to supply proof that what they are doing behind drawn blinds is really not that invasive.

However a new website called Immersion reveals otherwise. Immersion basically does exactly what the NSA is doing, collects the metadata of your email account. All of your social, educational or professional connections becomes a network of colored spheres in various sizes. The larger ones represent the people which you contact most frequently. I input my school email into the Immersion tool, and in under a minute the screen became a road map for my educational and extra curricular life. For example, merely by looking at the metadata anyone could find that I play tennis and soccer and prefer both more to swimming (no emails from my swim coach were responded to) and that math is by far my worst subject (the bubble representing email exchanges with my math teacher was by far the largest).

Remember also that this is the metadata of a benign school email of a high school senior. Imagine what could be discovered in the metadata of a personal email account. Or all of the anonymity that would be squandered in the professional relationships that we hold so dear: business partners, doctors and patients or lawyers and clients. ACLU associate Matthew Harwood takes a look at just how revealing metadata can be.

In summary, "it's just metadata" is clearly a skimpy defense for our government's blatant invasion of our privacy. Tools like Immersion, and a basic understanding of what exactly metadata is, show that you don't need the specific text or the words spoken to be able to find a shocking amount of personal information about someone. Yes, the world of technology is changing but that does certainly not mean the protections ensured by the Constitution can as well. Don't take no for an answer. Demand your metadata privacy.

For more information about the harm of metadata collection, read this article.