Janine had not heard. In terms of gossip, things like Danny’s sad attempt at hacking happened pretty often, and they were always shut down. After everyone got super paranoid during the Cold War and the whole threat of impending nuclear doom, the government passed the Clarity Act. During the nationwide state of emergency after War Games came out and people were inspired to hack both for and against the government (yes, some sort of vigilante-esque hackers did more harm than good), the Clarity Act promised safety and security for the nation. The government swooped in and regulated privacy rather than access to the Internet. Now, nearly a century after that film, all citizens were given an Internet Usage Number in addition to their Social Security Number. The Internet Usage Number is like a government issued username necessary to log into any device, connection, or server available. Not only are the government and the Clarity Reviewers constantly watching browser history, text messages, emails, and everything under the sun, but your Internet Usage Number is readily available for anyone to watch a live version of whatever device you’re interacting with.
Crime went down dramatically with the introduction of the Clarity Act, and Janine has lived in a world where she is not worried about suspicious online characters or government overthrows or someone hacking the nuclear codes. Privacy was an honored privilege reserved only for government officials with classified information, the extremely wealthy, and the Knowers.
Once the two girls arrive at school, they pass the main office, briefly overhearing Mike explain to the guidance counselor that he was only looking up “lockpicking tips” because he lost the key to his old diary. Honesty went up after the Act too.
When Janine asked if Isabelle was worried about their calculus exam, Isabelle scoffed, “I sure hope you’re not worried about it with how much I saw you on FlashCardNet last night. I mean come on, girl, don’t you like to sleep? Or watch your HoloScreen?”
Janine chuckled shyly and gently shoved her friend. “Whatever.”