Automated license plate readers that track every single license plate they see and often store the data indefinitely have become a hot topic lately. The databases of information, which includes every sighting of a particular plate (i.e. you) over long periods of time can be viewed much like Google maps. Hope you didn't park in front of a crack den when you went out for milk.
Your new fingerprint. Via Wikimedia Commons.
The ACLU has been blasting not only the surveillance of innocent (though assumed-guilty) citizens, but also the varying retention policies of law enforcement offices. A few discard the info after a few days, some hold onto it for years (you never know when a "good guy" could turn out to actually be a "bad guy"), and others don't see a reason to have a policy at all. They have a page on their site dedicated to ALPR systems and a report in PDF format.
It was a top story on newscasts, news sites, newspapers, and more, but will the American public have any reaction to PRISM? The story didn't get as much attention as Angelina Jolie's boob-job, or Kim Kardashian's pregnancy, but at least the mainstream media has finally made an effort to cover the issue of government spying (maybe because they've recently fallen victim to government spying).
But will it change anything? Does the public even care?
I can't count how many people I've spoken to about NSA whistleblowers, ThinThread, warrantless surveillance and its huge increase over the past few years, the PATRIOT Act, the Protect America Act, and the terrible nightmares I have because of all this. I've been called "crazy", "paranoid", a "conspiracy nut", and so on. Even after the news broke about PRISM, people still said I was a whack-job. They weren't interested in the story, and many still don't believe it. To me, that's the scariest part of it all. Hardly anyone cares.
Maybe we should give out copies of Enemy of the State, which did a superb job of outlining government spying capabilities while referencing actual NSA history and techniques. Even in 1998 they were just about spot on. Replace the satellites with ARGUS drones and it could be a documentary. Could Will Smith open everyone's eyes?
It's doubtful. The government will continue expanding its power and slowly leaking the information to test the waters. Each time they'll be taking more and more of our privacy, and the public will remain distracted by same-sex marriages, Duck Dynasty, fast food prices, getting drunk, or whatever else they think it so much more important than basic privacy rights.
If you're interested in maintaining any of your privacy, we recommend smashing all your electronics, selling your car, and heading off into the woods somewhere.
One thing we all know is that Google loves to make tongue-in-cheek logos. They have thousands of different logos that display in different localities on different days, from Tesla's birthday to Kwanza and more. Here's Google's "Doodle Archive".
It got us thinking, what other kinds of messages are they sending with their logos? Have you ever looked at the logo for Google Chrome? It looks like a giant eyeball, staring right at you. It's watching your every move. It's peering into your browsing habits and down into your soul. Why would they make Chrome's logo a terrifying robot eyeball?
Image copyright Google, Inc. Used here under fair comment and criticism usage.
We started looking into the news, and while there have always been privacy concerns about Google, there seem to be more and scarier stories popping up lately.
I recently helped someone create a Gmail account, and we were both shocked when we saw one of the agreements at the bottom that was already checked. It said, "Google may use my account information to personalize +1's on content and ads on non-Google websites". It was a frightening concept, and it was Google's default choice for us. It makes us wonder how safe Chrome really is.
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Breeze over to Talkweb to see how one man purchased the personal data of of 1 million Facebook users for a mere $5. CLICK.
Facebook is a terrifying invention (of the CIA). Stalkers use it to follow their prey. Hackers use it to gather info on victims. Police use it to hunt down suspects. Sometimes Facebook just gives the info to them. Rest assured, they only use the data for good.
Internet security is as simple as A B 1 2 3 4 5 6 C!
Ever notice how Facebook asks you to tag people in photos, and it always knows who the person is? When your face if put on Facebook--even once--you are logged and tracked forever. Better hope were never ruled by a dictator. Even if you aren't on Facebook, but you get caught in a photo with a friend who has it, you're linked to them, and easily trackable.
And if Facebook's public facial recognition software is that good, imagine what the government has. Imagine the amount of data they've collected, through Facebook and beyond it, on everyone, from real threats to harmless sheep to the peace-loving, paranoid darknetters.
Basically, the government is going to be relying more and more on our own devices to spy on us (anyone remember iPhones in India?).
What's frightening is that this isn't going to be just related to communication devices. In the future, it's quite obvious everything will be "smart". Pretty soon, your blender, toaster, microwave, TV, Blu-Ray player, etc. will be recording and monitoring your every move, every word and every action. Don't have sex with your wife unless you're under the blankets in the closet of a bunker in your backyard with six inches of lead wall. We know from the TSA's actions that the government loves making amateur porn.
TRANSCRIPT: "A lot of people don't realize this, but the NSA has been unrolling a plan to plant cameras into the automatic flushing systems of every toilet in America. They started their plan in the 1970s with a trial run in Colombia back in the days of Pablo Escobar. "Few people realize that over 70% of drug deals occur in bathrooms in bars and other public places. So what better way to watch over American citizens, and American drug-dealing and -doing citizens, than by placing cameras in the places they can't otherwise see. "Keep this in mind the next time you're using a public bathroom. It may not be as private in that bathroom as you've been led to believe."
