Bonnie Bots Are Basically the Chinese Gov't Spy Balloons of Second Life

I am still waiting on an announcement update from the developers of Bonnie Bots, the highly controversial project that collects and publishes publicly accessible Second Life user data on the web. In the meantime, I've been wondering how to quantify all the controversy over Bonnie Bots, when other data collecting bots have garnered far less outrage. 

And then the Chinese Communist Party were caught floating a spy balloon over US soil.

Causing much of the American public to collectively freak out. And that reaction also seemed out of whack, because whatever data the balloon gets is a relatively minor form of surveillance, against far more pervasive and intrusive projects that generate way less outrage. (Hello, TikTok.)

But this exchange between KCRW's Madeline Brand and New York Times security expert David Sanger explained why the reaction is so different:

Madeline Brand
And so the fact that we can see [the balloon], we get all outraged over it. But as you say, this kind of surveillance and scooping up of personal data and all sorts of technological spying has been going on between our two countries and other countries. Of course, Russia comes to mind and. And yet, this balloon story has really had sticking power.

David Sanger
Because you could see it and because it's a physical intrusion on our sovereignty, and people react to a physical intrusion of our sovereignty more than they react to a cyber intrusion on our sovereignty.

Emphasis mine. Because, yes: The Bonnie Bots are basically acting like CCP spy balloons hovering over the virtual world of Second Life.

Bonnie Bots' spokesperson Skyler Pancake agrees with that analogy:

"There's connections there. I'm not convinced most people truly realized China was spying on the US as much as they are, or vice versa. Like in Second Life, most of the data gathering is kept under the rug and unless you're involved or happen to know someone involved you probably won't hear much about it. Even when you do hear about it, it's an isolated incident and you compartmentalize it as such.

"It's hard for people to conceptualize just how much data is constantly being gathered about them and the organizations they are associated with, in part because there's no way to truly know how much is being collected."

By that logic, of course, Bonnie Bots would be far less controversial if they were much less visible and conspicuous.

Also notable: While the CCP isn't sharing the data it collects on the US with United States' citizens, Bonnie Bots' data is being shared with Second Life citizens, so to speak. But apparently that doesn't allay every SLer's outrage.

Hopefully random mysterious UFOs don't start showing up over the skies of SL too.

Comments

[Scylla Rhiadra]

So, let's consider the implications of this analogy (which is not a new one).

China, which is a hostile power, is collecting information -- "spying" -- on the US and possibly Canada. But their response to the balloons is, you are implying, unreasonable, because they are also using other means of espionage?

So, by way of this analogy, Bonnie Bots is similarly spying on residents in SL, without our permission and against the express wishes of many of us, but responding to them is also "unreasonable" because, as unwanted as their invasive data harvesting is, it's no worse than what other people are doing, and at least they're being "open" about it?

Is it your argument that the US and Canada should simply allow the Chinese to continue to spy using balloons, because they're at least in the open, and just supplementing other means of espionage?

And that we should similarly simply shrug about the harvesting of our data by Bonnie Bots, because, while it is also "hostile," or at least unwanted by a great many of us, other people are also collecting our data using more clandestine means?

I can't respond to that which I don't know is happening. But if I see someone doing something obnoxious, I would be stupid not to act against it.

The implication that Bonnie Bots is open and above board about this "spying" is also highly questionable. There's actually not a whole lot of transparency here.

What information about our avatars and our activities are they collecting and storing in their database? Do they have complete records of where we have been, when, and with whom? Are they retaining an ongoing, dynamic record of that info, over time? Are they tracking changes to our profiles? What, now that they have been compelled -- oops, sorry! "chosen" to remove their original "Avatar Search" from the web source, are they intending to do with that data?

Actually, maybe you're right. Should we push this analogy to its logical conclusion?

Is it time to shoot Bonnie Bots out of the sky?

[Sam Rougefeu]

"Is it time to shoot Bonnie Bots out of the sky?"
If we allow damage on our land can we do that?
It might be a new hobby, we could have competitive bot shooting!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

@Sam -- Well, as someone who is committed to non-violent responses to social problems, I'm not sure I myself could really endorse such an extreme solution.

*coughs*

On the other hand (and granted, of course, the consent of Bonnie Bots themselves), it might ensure that they actually were contributing something worthwhile to the grid?

Maybe offer prizes to those who bag the most each week? BonnieBots.com could keep a running score on their web site!

[Jacques Mesrine]

Oh, the "Chinese Communist Party" itself managed to float a balloon?
I wonder which comrades were involved.
Could have been the PLA or MSS, instead?

[DeBots]

Bonnie Bots must go!

[Joey1058]

What people forget, is that Linden Lab sees no potential harm in this. It is no different than other classic data scraping methods, and I agree. Where the concern should lie is if the Bonnies were operated by Facebook, Google, Amazon, or Microsoft. Doesn't it concern anyone that FAANG has enough data on society to gag a maggot? All of the Bonnies data is open and public. I can't even fathom what Google or Facebook know about me. As for the CCP? Smile and wave for the camera.