Hi Guys,
Brace yourself; this is a big one.
The Irish Council of Civil Liberties, in conjunction with privacy advocates in the US, has launched a class action lawsuit against Oracle over claims that the tech giant is unduly tracking and monitoring people.
The suit, filed in California last Friday, alleges the tech giant’s “worldwide surveillance machine” has amassed detailed dossiers on over five billion people worldwide and accuses the company of violating the privacy of most people on Earth. You can read the full suit HERE.
Who is Oracle?
Oracle is an American software company founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison. The company currently has 143,000 employees worldwide and generates over $40 billion annual revenue. In 2019, it was the world’s second-largest software company by revenue and market capitalization.
Oracle systems and databases are everywhere. You may have never heard of them unless you are involved in enterprise computing. Still, every time you surf the Internet, browse through social media, make a purchase online or offline, use a map to go somewhere, or send a message, you can be sure that at some point, your data passes through an Oracle system.
It is clear that Oracle has been hoovering up all of the data that passes through its systems and partner systems and is using it to build detailed dossiers of nearly everyone in the world. Oracle’s dossiers about people include but are not limited to the following:
- Names
- Home addresses
- Emails
- Purchases online and in the real world
- Physical movements in the real world
- Income
- Interests
- Political views,
- Detailed account of online activity
As per the suit, one Oracle database even included a record of a German man who used a prepaid debit card to place a €10 bet on an esports betting site. They can track everyone and everything at all times.
Every step you take, every move you make, Oracle and many other companies and government agencies are watching you.
Be careful what you do and what you say online. It might not be an issue now, but something you said or did online in five years could come back to haunt you. There is no privacy on the Internet, not even on the dark web.
I will keep you posted.
All the best,
Max Roberts,