CSUN On Point

Passwords, code combinations, and security questions – there are multiple ways in which we try to protect our information online and on our devices today. Yet the reality is that there aren’t any constitutional laws that protect our online privacy.

In this digital age we perform numerous actions on the Internet everyday that require us to share our personal information. It has become such a habit for us to do so that many of us no longer think twice of who this data can be accessed by, and for how long it will be accessible.

“In reality what we’re doing is that we’re all surrendering information, we’re not sharing it,” said CSUN Marketing Professor Kristen Walker. “All we have is faith in our interactions and exchange of information, in particular on our mobile devices.”

The question of who has the right to the information we surrender gained attention this spring as tech company Apple and the FBI got involved in an encryption case. In the aftermath of the fatal terrorist attack in San Bernardino in December 2015, the FBI wanted the iPhone belonging to one of the suspects unlocked. Apple refused to help the FBI in their encryption request, saying it would endanger both personal privacy and national security.

“This is really just two villains facing off each other,” said CSUN Communication Studies Professor Gina Giotta. “Nobody wins, because our rights are being trampled in both cases: on the one hand in the corporate sector, on the other hand in the government sector.”

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures by our government, and is seen by many legal scholars as also central to all forms of surveillance and privacy. In today’s era of technology, the Fourth Amendment has also been interpreted by some as a broad protection of our privacy on digital platforms as well.

“Our technology is advancing in an unprecedented pace, and our legal system is not keeping up,” said Guardian reporter Nellie Bowles. “You have these two really separate cultures, moving in two different paces, and we’re starting to see a lot of situations where that is becoming a major problem.”

This tech privacy zeitgeist may be more noticeable for some than for others. Older generations were used to having only their name and contact information in the white pages accessible to others. The amount of personal information that we’re forced to surrender today can be difficult for these generations to accept.

“Technology might be going too fast, according to our mentality,” said Pierce College Computer Science Professor Luis Celada. “If you ask a person born in the last 15 years, there’s no such thing as being careful with their privacy, because they have always been exposed to it. Prior generations see that difference.”

Giotta said the so-called Millennials should be careful with how and what they share about themselves online. This care should also go for popular social networks, where information usually is shared only with users known and trusted.

“To suggest that the mutual or peers surveillance that we do on social networks isn’t a big deal is kind of dangerous,” Giotta said. “When we feel the constant gaze of our friends, co-workers, and parents upon us, we’re much less likely to be concerned when one of those gazes becomes that of the government.”

Moderator: Sofia Levin

Anchor: Mariah Robinson

Producer: Harry Bennett III

Social Media Editors: Harry Bennett III and Mariah Robinson

Reporters: Ajo Adelaja, Harry Bennett III, Jarvis Haren, Valerie Hernandez, Haley Kramer, Sofia Levin and Mariah Robinson

Both Democrats and Republicans have had long and well-publicized campaign seasons for this Presidential election, and both of the front-runners have yet to acquire enough delegates to win on the first ballot at the convention.

California will likely be the state that will secure the amount of delegates for the front runners for both of the major political parties. Still, many voters are saying they’re dissatisfied and confused by the long process.

“Political parties are not democratic institutions,” said former mayor of Thousand Oaks and Pierce College Political Science professor Ed Jones. “It gives the impression that they are when you see all these primaries.”

The party rules governing the system have been slowly developed in the course of our country’s history.

“Political parties are not mentioned in the United States Constitution, the only major political element that isn’t,” Jones said.

The nomination process has evolved, from party leaders choosing the candidate they believe has the best chance to win the election, to voters having their voices heard in a primary.

“The process has become more representative,” said Los Angeles Valley College Political Science Professor Anthony O’Regan. “It has become more democratic. It does reflect the will of the people, but it is the will of the people within the political party.”

California’s registration deadline is May 23, giving voters more time, not only to register, but also pick a party affiliation. This should help avoid the problems of voters being disenfranchised because they are not registered or registered improperly, as has happened in other states.

“We won’t have necessarily the issues that they had in New York, because in New York you had to be registered six months prior to the election date in order for you to cast a ballot,” said Los Angeles Democratic Party Vice-Chair Mark Gonzalez.

The California primary election takes place on June 7. California residents can find out how they can register and where to vote on the California Voter Information Guide at http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov.

“Your voice is your vote,” Gonzalez said. “We still have time for folks to register. People are engaged; they’re excited; they’re at rallies and events. And I think it’s important for everybody to just realize: it’s just simply about the vote.”

Moderator: October Primavera

Anchor: Glenna Dixon

Producer: October Primavera

Social Media Editors: Jasmin Dalton and Kiara Draper

Reporters: Harry Abelson, Jasmin Dalton, Kiara Draper, Anna Logan and October Primavera

Common sense would suggest that candidates for powerful elective office be knowledgeable and experienced, but some of this year’s presidential candidates seem to be using their lack of experience in government as a selling point.

The United States is one year away from electing its next president, and the leading candidates — Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Ben Carson — are all trying, in one way or another, to sell themselves to voters as ‘outsiders.’

“There are no outsiders really,” Pierce College Political Science Professor Denise Robb said. “We always end up with the person experienced in government. An outsider would be someone with no experience. Trump, for example, is an outsider.”

Trump is a billionaire real estate mogul and TV personality on NBC’s ‘The Celebrity Apprentice’.

Carson, Trump’s closest competitor, is an author, philanthropist and retired neurosurgeon, who became famous for separating conjoined twins.“I am never going to be politically correct since I am not a politician,” he said during an appearance on CNN.

On the Democratic side, Clinton and Sanders have both been spent decades working in government and politics, yet both are trying to adopt this ‘outsider’ label.

Article II, Section I of the Constitution says that in order to run for the office of president, a candidate must be a natural born citizen of the U.S.; he or she must be thirty-five years of age or older, and have at least a fourteen year residency in the country. Even though these basic qualifications to run for office aren’t much, some experts say voters consider more than that.

“American politics is determined by money,” Los Angeles Valley College History Professor Michael Powelson said. “The reason why Trump is leading is because he’s a multimillionaire. With money you can do what you want despite the [lack of an] education.”

Powelson said he thinks that no matter which candidate wins, there will be only one true victor: “Wall Street.”

Still, Powelson said he doesn’t believe these ‘outsider’ candidates have a chance of making it to the national elections.

“Hillary Clinton is going to be the Democratic nominee, especially now that [Vice-President Joseph] Biden has said he’s not going to run, and Bernie’s numbers are starting to fizzle,” CSUN Political Science Professor Tyler Hughes said.

Moderator: Nick Popham

Anchor: Ashton Smith

Producer: Mirna Duron

Reporter: Anna Akopyan

Social Media Editor: Ericka Sims