Imagine an online platform that stores all your data and connects all your social networks. You’ll have unlimited storage, the ability to connect with people who might not even be online and never be bombarded with advertising.
That’s what new online application PRSM boasts. With partners like Google, Facebook, Apple and Yahoo, it’s clear they have some corporate power behind them.
And not a little make-believe. Repeat the name PRSM one more time, and you should catch on to the joke.
You’ll Laugh, Until You Cry
The creators of PRSM claim it is “a brand new way to share everything,” where you’ll find “every person you’ve ever known, even grandma.”
When you first visit the website, it looks mildly appealing for those of us who are spread out among a variety of social networks and would like a simple way of pulling it all in once place. But as you start scrolling through the well designed website, you notice the satire emanating from the “Titan Supercomputer” and the data center that can store up to “five zettabytes” of information.
Of course, if you’re still interested in joining the site resembling Big Brother, prepare to be disappointed. After clicking on the sign up button, you’re faced with the hard truth: someone is already monitoring your networks.
DataCoup, a platform that allows people to securely exchange their data and information on a commercial marketplace, created the parody site with the hope that users will click through to the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) website encouraging people to shine a light on the National Security Agency’s questionable communications monitoring practices. If you try to sign up for PRSM, you will be directed to the EFF’s call to action page, where you are prompted to email members of Congress.
PRSM is just the latest effort from concerned citizens encouraging the country to learn more about the questionable practices by government intelligence agencies. The awareness campaign appears to be working: the site has gained some attention from Twitter users today, many of whom applauded the effort to raise the alarms about our slowly depleting digital privacy.