Three times the future

Three developments for greater mass surveillance powers, by a government, a corporation and a UN body.

1. Public Buses Across Country Quietly Adding Microphones to Record Passenger Conversations

Not to forget, no one in particular needs to listen to all these recordings. Homeland Security algorithms do that. (Thank you, Moore’s Law!)

2. How to get targeted ads on your TV? Try a camera in your set-top box.

Seriously? A camera watching you watch TV? Baffling stuff.
George O. should have patented the idea in 1948!

3. Leaked: ITU’s secret Internet surveillance standard discussion draft

Authoritarian regimes worldwide teaming up with a UN telecommunications body relic to get the internet under control once and for all. There’s a list of what could be possible by deep packet inspection (referred to as DPI in that article), once installed at the net’s central nodes. Scary stuff. We’d all have to go dark web, which I’d prefer not to. The future? Not if I can help it.