Luciano Felli

According to Greek mythology, a long time ago, Greece waged war against Troy for over 10 years until one day, the Greeks gave a huge wooden horse as a gift to the Trojans. When night fell and everyone was asleep, armed men hidden inside the hollow wooden horse emerged, allowing the Greek army to easily destroy the city of Troy and win the war.

Like the Trojan horse, it seems that this nightmare is happening again. Nowadays, it is very common for people to have Alexa, Google Home speakers, and other smart devices with built-in microphones connected to the internet 24/7. Big tech companies claim that these devices are secure and that they respect consumer , insisting they never listen to what people are saying. Really? Tell me another one! When the Greeks gave the huge wooden horse to the Trojans, they didn’t mention that it contained armed men inside.

Of course, these smart devices aren’t weapons, but in a time when people's metadata is the new gold, do you really think they aren’t collecting and generating metadata for companies?

In addition to selling metadata to other companies, big tech firms possibly sell data to our government and foreign governments. Since it involves trillions of dollars, they don’t have a choice; they always have to comply with governments, legitimate or not.

According to Edward Snowden in his book Permanent Record, when he was an NSA agent working undercover at Dell, he said that big tech companies always have government spies, and the NSA has a direct link connected to their servers.

But you may be thinking, "I have nothing to hide, so I have nothing to fear!" That’s a fallacy. is a fundamental human right. It’s not just about protecting secrets but about ensuring individual freedom, the right to self-determination, and personal security. This statement ignores the intrinsic value of for human dignity.

The argument assumes that all systems and governments are always just and transparent. However, history shows that data can be used for manipulation, excessive surveillance, and even for the repression of minority groups or opponents. Even if you have nothing to hide, power in the wrong hands can have serious consequences.

Even seemingly harmless data can be misinterpreted, leading to incorrect profiles or false accusations. Mass data collection and surveillance, even for those who 'have nothing to hide,' can result in unforeseen negative impacts.

Beyond Alexa, Google Home devices, and smartphones, all other devices connected to the internet, including televisions, scales, and smart lighting, collect data.

Apple, as opposed to Google, claims that all its products are focused on , but I have some doubts. Maybe they don’t sell data to marketing companies, but they probably send some data to the U.S. government.

Unlike in mythology, where the Trojans were given the wooden horse, we are paying to be watched. It's sad but true.

What can we do? Go back to the Stone Age? The answer is NO!
When we’re not using these devices, we can unplug them since they’re not necessary all the time, and we can avoid buying things with unnecessary features like refrigerators and washing machines with internet access. Why do you need the internet in these cases?