The growth and financial success of information technology companies such as Twitter, Alphabet and Mega is based on Internet marketing using information from their users accessed through the seemingly free services of Facebook, Instagram and others that allow you to share pictures, messages and personal achievements of your users on your social networks.
Although the negotiation of personal data has become public in recent years, most users are not aware of the large profits these companies make by freely handling their data, and that the loss of privacy in the corporate sector has also spread to the national level.
US federal regulations require banks to monitor suspicious transactions and report transfers that exceed $10,000. However, users are not aware that specialized money transfer companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram share this information with government-related entities, specifically the Transaction Record Analysis Center (TRAC). TRAC was established in 2014 by the Arizona Attorney General as part of an agreement with Western Union to prevent drug and human trafficking from Mexico. Currently, this process has been extended to more than 600 US entities, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), to monitor the transfer of funds between the US and the rest of the world. While the Arizona attorney general indicated that customers who use remittance companies do not have the same privacy expectations as traditional banks, they are also, in most cases, unaware that their transfers are being monitored by government agencies.
This situation is more important for migrants from Latin American countries who have left the region…
According to statements made in March 2022 by Ron Wyden, Democratic Senator from Oregon, the US Homeland Security Agency (HSI) issued subpoenas to Western Union and Maxitransfers to provide TRAC with information on millions of transfers of $500 or more that they sent users between four US states and Mexico. Wyden indicated that data on these transfers from the US extends to one of its territories and 22 countries. Although HSI rescinded these requests following this investigation, other money transfer companies, such as Viamerica, indicate that they have received similar requests from the FBI and DEA.
These financial surveillance policies not only extend the problem originally created by the corporate sector of private information use, but in this case have a greater impact on low-income minority populations with less access to the banking system. This situation is more relevant for migrants from Latin American countries who have left the region due to economic crisis or authoritarian governments and find themselves in an environment where their survival requires proper management of personal and financial data. (OR)
Source: Eluniverso
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
