Les nouveaux loups du Web

A documentary that exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it ... if anything.

When I decided to watch this, the first thing I thought of was the "South Park" human centipede episode. And sure enough, a clip is shown almost immediately. Great to see these guys have a sense of humor (heck, they even have Willy Wonka and Eddie Izzard).

There are plenty of statistics about how long it would take to read all the fine print that no one really does and how much it is allegedly costing us to agree to these "hidden in plain sight" conditions.

We get a bit of a look at the Patriot Act's effect on privacy laws, and an even briefer mention of PRISM (which, unfortunately, makes the film a bit dated already, even only a year after it was made). There are even examples of people getting arrested by authorities for their Facebook and Twitter posts. (And one guy -- the "steak and cheese" author -- who did not!)

Does the film spread paranoia? Does it make Mark Zuckerberg the enemy? To the first question, no. While constantly on the verge of going too far, the film never does, and makes many valid points without ever sounding like a conspiracy theory. As to the second, this is more unclear. Zuckerberg is suggested to be too close to the FBI and other organizations, and certainly Facebook's privacy settings come under attack. But this is only a superficial reading -- the real message is that all tech companies, not just Facebook, are now going this route.

I think that we should be entitled to privacy and are entitled to have our rights without having fear for what we post on the internet. In fact most of the data that we type in on the internet can be constantly be misused, and that our right to freedom is in jeopardy. There should be some new laws to protect citizens of not being reprimanded of what they post on the internet. This is a well-crafted documentary that raises awareness of what is really going on when you click the "I Agree" options of the 'Terms and Conditions' of various websites.

No wonder Netflix was promoting this documentary so hard. My girlfriend watched it first and quickly recommended it to me. It truly is one of the best documentaries I've ever watched, and in my Top 5!

I'll be re-watching it again next week, so hopefully I can add a bit more to the review once I re-watch it.

Firstly - The graphics, animations and typography used were wonderful, it really complimented the well thought out and structured film.

It gave an easy to view look at how the world is changing, and how these big companies/government agencies are a real threat to our privacy. The ONE thing missing from this Documentary, was how we (the people) can fight back against this kind of privacy violations, but then again.. can we fight back at all?

This is a brilliantly researched excellent feature !

Your privacy has been compromised to the very core the moment you created an account with any of the following...facebook, google, gmail, twitter, iphone etc...

What does one feel about hacking ?

What does one feel about being spied on ?

Would you say the same things when whatever you say is being recorded ?

Whoever you talk to, including your private and personal conversations over the phone are being recorded and heard by another unknown human being who can use every word you say to condemn you anytime !

Well boys n girls... welcome to the world of cookies and the internet !

Choose ur words carefully...its not free after-ALL !!!

This is an important and frightening film, about how Google, Amzaon, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Linkdin - and IMDb? - harvest our personal information and onsell it to the highest bidder, or to the government. How we don't read that wodge of text in capitals comprising "Terms and conditions" before we click "Accept" - nobody could, it would take a month per year for everything we sign. But even when that text is brief and written in plain English, it gives those corporations unprecedented power over our personal information - including the right to change the rules without telling us, to increase their power without limit and without asking again, and to keep it forever, even after we have "deleted" it.

The film is entertaining, including how a seven year old boy was interrogated about something he had texted; how an Irishman on holiday in the US never got into the country but spent days in confinement instead, because he had used "destroy America" as a figure of speech in a tweet; how people planning a zombie parade during the Royal Wedding were arrested based on the social media planning; and how a TV crime writer was raided based on his Google searches.

I saw this a few days after "We Steal Secrets: the story of Wikileaks". It is the better film, letting the facts speak for themselves more.

And now I'm getting paranoid about what will happen to me for writing this....