Mid-day Extra: Jonathan Zittrain on Fed’s plan to monitor Twitter, blogs
Mid-day Extra: Jonathan Zittrain on Fed’s plan to monitor Twitter, blogs
Reports are surfacing that say the Federal Reserve Bank of New York wants to use data from Facebook, Twitter, the blogosphere and mainstream news outlets to better understand its public perception.
All the things and policies the Fed deliberates and decides may seem far removed from everyday Americans.
It’s enough to make one wonder — will Ben Bernanke soon be “friending” you and I?
Some blogs immediately jumped at the news, seeing the move as an invasion of privacy on the part of a government organization.
At the same time, private companies and political figures have already been doing the same kind of analysis for a while now.
We went to Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard professor and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, about what this really could mean for privacy, for the Fed, and for the economy.
It turns out, we probably don’t need to be worried — yet.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
