Rhetorical Analysis

Malte Spitz: Cell Phones are Watching

            No one should be able to see what train someone gets on just through his or her cell phone data. The idea that cell phones enable the government to track our every move, call, or text at any given moment is terrifying. This privacy invasion is a reality in the lives of many across Europe and all over the world, including in the life of a man named Malte Spitz. In a video of him speaking to a live studio audience he tells his story in which because of the Data Retention Directive in Europe, his cell phone company was allowed access to his calls, texts, emails, and location and they recorded this data for six months. He makes the statement that one must fight for self determination and privacy in this technological age, successfully enlightening Europe and the world about data retention and what damage it can cause to a person’s privacy and society’s network of communication.

Spitz simultaneously makes claims of governmental injustice and privacy invasion by sharing his story about being robbed of his privacy through data retention and the facts surrounding the Data Retention Directive in Europe. Spitz also incorporates the idea of privacy and displays its value in a person’s life. He begins by discussing the event when his cell phone company, Deutsche Telekom, refused to give him the raw data they had retained from his phone calls, emails, text messages, and locations, which they accessed from his mobile phone. When he filed a lawsuit against the phone company they surrendered and gave him the data as long as he would drop the lawsuit, since Germany had declared this directive unconstitutional under its law. They sent him the 35,830 lines of raw data code that had been collected over the past six months, an image of which was shown being scrolled through on the screen as he talked. This image placement made the whole situation more impactful because the audience was looking directly at the data that had been collected on his phone, which transformed a story being told into visual evidence that such an atrocity had occurred. An animation plays on the screen shortly after, dictating that because of data retention the government knew where he was at all times, including what train he took to work everyday and who he called while he was on the train. The animation shows a red blinking dot moving along a path on a map of Berlin, representing Spitz and his path to work. This animation enforces the message that the government has the capacity to track exactly where someone is at all times, while evoking a sense of fear and insecurity to people who value privacy and this extreme visual represents how that privacy was taken away. He takes on an authoritative tone of voice, showing that he is in control of his emotions and the situation, while effectively displaying the seriousness of the information he is relaying about the directive. While Spitz states that content is not recorded, the 35,830 lines of raw data contain his entire life for the six months that the data was being collected. In a newspaper article in London’s newspaper, The Guardian, it is expressed what the directive dictates must be stored: “the content of emails and calls will not be held, ISPs will be asked to record the date, time, duration and recipients of online communications” (Tryhorn). While not recording the data is a positive aspect of the directive, the concept that someone’s location and phone calls can be tracked is extremely nerve racking. Spitz’s points about data retention hindering privacy during the video were accurate and factual, as they were derived from personal experience, rather than just a retelling of a story heard on the news or from some other information source. His appeal to audience emotion is also very strong because he makes the audience feel scared that such injustice could be happening to them without them even realizing it, as well as feel angry towards the government for this invasion of privacy.

Spitz closes his assertion and warning with a direction to protect one’s privacy and assert self-determination. The screen displays “self-determination” in huge black letters on a plain white background, which implies that his point is black and white, simple, and should be followed. He states that the audience should contact his or her cell phone provider and request the data that they have been retaining from their cell phone records. This statement is a suggestion to confront the government and demand the information withheld under the directive to regain an individual’s sense of security and privacy. He pushes the audience to tell their friends that privacy is a value that must be fought for; otherwise this data retention gives the government domination over the lives of the people in society. Spitz explains the wide-spread effects of data retention in his video when he states, “You can see how your people are communicating with each other, what times they call each other, when they go to bed […] you can see what your society is doing. If you have access to this information, you can control your society” (Spitz).  He explains that countries can use this retention to have full control over the actions of their society, and will know who leads and follows if upheavals ensue. Spitz compares the retention directive to the Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, and declares that in the chaos surrounding the Berlin wall destruction, the government would identify the leaders and protestors and may have prevented the occurrence (Spitz). This concept is enhanced by the use of two images on the screen during Spitz’s presentation. The first is a photograph of a Berlin protest which illustrates the point that if all the people present at that scene had cell phones and the government had access to their data, the protests would be less effective because leaders could be tracked and stopped before the situation escalated. The second image is of a network being created by connecting dots with lines, representing people calling one another. He uses this visual to expound upon his idea that the government can see what the whole society is doing, just by mapping out connections between people in that society. Action is called on the people to take control of their privacy and make sure the government cannot control the social network of communication between people.

Overall, Spitz provides an informative message to enlighten the audience about the possibilities of having privacy robbed through data retention. He uses strong visuals that evoke a sense of fear and exposure, as the audience comes to a realization that this retention is a real problem and truly does take away privacy. Without these visuals, the problem would likely have seemed less real; however, watching the path someone takes by train every morning is a wake up call as to how much information the government can gather. Spitz uses direct language that the audience can understand to explain complex situations, such as how governments can use retention to control a social network. This concept, while not simple to understand how the network spreads and how the government can use the information, is explained through visuals and clear language to make the topic easier to understand. Although his situation was a direct result of the Data Retention Directive in Europe, Spitz makes the concept of data retention robbing a person’s privacy universal and applicable to people all across the globe because he presents his information to the audience by being factual, warning, and direct, Malte Spitz successfully persuades his audience to feel motivated to take hold of his or her own privacy rights and not let this directive control anyone’s life.

Works Cited

Spitz, Malte. “Your phone company is watching.” TED Talks. Ted.com. July 2012. Web. 23 September 2012.

Tryhorn, Chris. “Recorded delivery: New data retention law: ISPs to record all emails and calls”   The Guardian 6 April 2009 final ed.: All. Print.

Copyright © October 2012 by Amanda Brewer