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Yes, that is a clever civil-libertarian perspective on the implications of mobile phones, but it doesn't hold up for anyone outside the world of software engine
by mortenjorck 11y ago
Yes, that is a clever civil-libertarian perspective on the implications of mobile phones, but it doesn't hold up for anyone outside the world of software engineering and security. You can't say people willingly accepted it when normal people don’t think in opsec terms.
No one outside tech circles thinks, upon signing a mobile service contract, "this device could conceivably be turned into a remote bug if the baseband is compromised by a state actor, but I'm willing to accept that trade-off." They think it's secure because it's sold as secure.
- mikeash 11y agoDon't get me wrong: I'm not arguing that people willingly accepted mass surveillance within their own homes, or that they somehow deserve it by accepting technology. I'm just saying that the scenario in which there's a microphone in everyone's house that the government can turn on at will is not a hypothetical, it is reality, and furthermore that it's remarkable that the government didn't have to raise a stink or pass oppressive laws or anything of the sort in order to make it happen.