4 ms·

I am surprised that it is only 300 times - but this is probably because these devices are now bought by wealthy people who don't commit too many crimes or felon

by zby 8y ago

I am surprised that it is only 300 times - but this is probably because these devices are now bought by wealthy people who don't commit too many crimes or felonies.

spaceribs 8y ago
I'd wager white-collar crime happens more than street crime. It's known that it costs us between 250 billion to 1 trillion dollars yearly, but pursuing the crimes isn't prioritized by the FBI/IRS because of the costs of litigation, the possibility of destabilizing the markets, and the war on drugs/terror.
- zby 8y ago
  Interesting point - maybe they don't need home surveillance in these investigations that often? The case mentioned in the article as the first one was a white collar crime: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/10/12/how-an-amateur-rap-crew-stole-surveillance-tech-that-tracks-almost-every-american/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/10/12/how-a...
  - tedunangst 8y ago
    That doesn't really say much about what the prosecution learned from nest.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
drasticmeasures 8y ago
You don't have to commit a crime to be targeted, spied on, harassed and have your life destroyed by the government. When the government spies on innocent people en masse -- because they say they should have nothing to hide --, the government is the one doing harm to an innocent person, and it's the government who has something to hide. Without accountability, and given the secret and anonymous nature of their interference, we can't trust that the government only spies on guilty people, because they will circularly claim that they are guilty because they are spied on. And you shouldn't take solace that comparatively only a few innocent people get their lives destroyed, not just because it can happen to you, or because it shouldn't happen in the first place, but because not being accountable for their crimes gradually emboldens the government, and given advances in automation, to scale it up and encompass more of society until one day they come for you or your children.
- zby 8y ago
  I agree - it starts with criminals - because it is an obvious target, but once the capabilities are built then they are used in whatever way the government likes.

by zby 8y ago

I am surprised that it is only 300 times - but this is probably because these devices are now bought by wealthy people who don't commit too many crimes or felonies.

spaceribs 8y ago

I'd wager white-collar crime happens more than street crime. It's known that it costs us between 250 billion to 1 trillion dollars yearly, but pursuing the crimes isn't prioritized by the FBI/IRS because of the costs of litigation, the possibility of destabilizing the markets, and the war on drugs/terror.

zby 8y ago
Interesting point - maybe they don't need home surveillance in these investigations that often? The case mentioned in the article as the first one was a white collar crime: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/10/12/how-an-amateur-rap-crew-stole-surveillance-tech-that-tracks-almost-every-american/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/10/12/how-a...
- tedunangst 8y ago
  That doesn't really say much about what the prosecution learned from nest.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

drasticmeasures 8y ago

You don't have to commit a crime to be targeted, spied on, harassed and have your life destroyed by the government. When the government spies on innocent people en masse -- because they say they should have nothing to hide --, the government is the one doing harm to an innocent person, and it's the government who has something to hide. Without accountability, and given the secret and anonymous nature of their interference, we can't trust that the government only spies on guilty people, because they will circularly claim that they are guilty because they are spied on. And you shouldn't take solace that comparatively only a few innocent people get their lives destroyed, not just because it can happen to you, or because it shouldn't happen in the first place, but because not being accountable for their crimes gradually emboldens the government, and given advances in automation, to scale it up and encompass more of society until one day they come for you or your children.

zby 8y ago
I agree - it starts with criminals - because it is an obvious target, but once the capabilities are built then they are used in whatever way the government likes.