The 2018 Netflix movie, Anon, is a dystopian look at one potential future of people’s privacy. In this world, people are fitted with contact lense-type eye implants that record all the individual sees as his “record”. This implant provides many conveniences such as unlocking your front door, initiating video chats with people in your contact list, and even playing back pre-recorded memories from days or even years gone by.
Of course, this convenience also has drawbacks. Police can easily access your “record” in criminal investigations whether you’re guilty or not and, if the government has access to your record, others can obtain access, too. It recalls to my mind the long time battle of security versus convenience. I’m also remind of that famous Benjamin Franklin quote:
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
Benjamin Franklin
In the last scene of the movie, the anti-hero hacker asserts her stance on personal privacy:
“It’s not that I have something to hide. I have nothing I want you to see.”
Anon (The Girl)
With regard to privacy and especially government access to one’s personal information, many people often say, “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” Perhaps we should turn that around and ask ourselves is there anything of our personal affairs we want government to see? Or, maybe even more to the point, what right does government have to our personal affairs to begin with?
Anon is an entertaining movie that is sure to make you think more about your own privacy and conveniences you may even be taking advantage of today that could potentially compromise some of that privacy. However, it is not a family-friendly movie, so adults only, please!
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