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Seriously, the use cases for 96 hours of tracking are frightening. Meet victim in club/bus/supermarket/wherever I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is h

Seriously, the use cases for 96 hours of tracking are frightening. Meet victim in club/bus/supermarket/wherever I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is how stalking works in practice. People don't stalk random strangers they meet in the supermarket. They stalk former partners, and (more rarely) people they've developed an obsession about. That means the stalker has to worry about being recognized by the victim, and consequently will have fewer opportunities to plant a device and retrieve a device than you imagine. Furthermore, while being tracked for up to 96 hours indeed is a frightening thought, the typical stalker's goal is to track their victim at all times. Having to plant and retrieve a device at least every four days, without being detected by the victim, makes for a very impractical way to achieve that goal.

JohnBooty 5y ago
I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is how stalking works in practice. People don't stalk random strangers they meet in the supermarket. They stalk former partners, and (more rarely) people they've developed an obsession about. Well, yeah -- I agree 100% that this is existing predator behavior, and most crimes will continue to be committed by a person known to the victim. However, if not properly safeguarded, this sort of tech clearly can enable some new types of bad behavior. Ultimately I'm a technology optimist and we shouldn't reject new tech simply because it might be misused. However it's also true that even the most cursory glance at history shows us that just about any new technology is also used for nefarious purposes.
- adamlett 5y ago
  This I agree with. My contention was with what you first wrote, which made it seem like the 4 day limit was not meaningful. I think it makes all the difference for the reasons I laid out.
- pozdnyshev 5y ago
  technology dogmatist* rather

JohnBooty 5y ago

I'm not an expert, but I don't think this is how stalking works in practice. People don't stalk random strangers they meet in the supermarket. They stalk former partners, and (more rarely) people they've developed an obsession about. Well, yeah -- I agree 100% that this is existing predator behavior, and most crimes will continue to be committed by a person known to the victim. However, if not properly safeguarded, this sort of tech clearly can enable some new types of bad behavior. Ultimately I'm a technology optimist and we shouldn't reject new tech simply because it might be misused. However it's also true that even the most cursory glance at history shows us that just about any new technology is also used for nefarious purposes.

adamlett 5y ago
This I agree with. My contention was with what you first wrote, which made it seem like the 4 day limit was not meaningful. I think it makes all the difference for the reasons I laid out.
pozdnyshev 5y ago
technology dogmatist* rather