According to China publication Apple Times, the Chinese government has installed surveillance devices on up to 20,000 cars with dual China/Hong Kong plates, claiming the tags are just for inspection. However, they have the capability to pickup and transmit conversations.
Under current US law, all telcos are forced to keep the capability to let the government spy on you. But with blazing advances in what telcos offer, the government is left behind. They want to catch up. Their solution? Tougher law.
Here’s today’s jarring news from the New York Times: US law enforcement and national security officials want to force companies like Facebook, Skype and BlackBerry to let them wiretap your accounts.
In the last year alone, Sprint turned over users’ GPS data to authorities 8 million times. While that number is misleadingly high—this could translate to under a thousand individual users—it’s still terrifying. But wait, it gets even better!
So much for change: Wired reports that Obama’s administration is lining with Bush on supporting the warrantless-eavesdropping program, urging the courts to drop a case against it. Paraphrasing Stewart: It’s only f*ck*ng day one.