Since the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson, it seems like more and more videos are coming online depicting the police using excessive force. This is a very good thing because as a society we have to hold the police, as well as the government, responsible for their actions. Well Apple has recently patented a technology that may actually allow police to stop or interfere with your cell phone’s ability to record video where ever the police would decide to put this technology up.
Apple’s patent is currently active for the police-state technology and as Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks describes, “Those policies would be downloadactivated by GPS, and WiFi or mobile-base stations, which would ring-fence around a building or a ‘sensitive area’ to prevent phone cameras from taking pictures or recording video.” Here is what the patent itself describes as the use and “positive” aspects of the technology:
“As wireless devices such as cellular telephones, pagers, personal media devices and smartphones become ubiquitous, more and more people are carrying these devices in various social and professional settings,” the patent reads. “The result is that these wireless devices can often annoy, frustrate, and even threaten people in sensitive venues. For example, cell phones with loud ringers frequently disrupt meetings, the presentation of movies, religious ceremonies, weddings, funerals, academic lectures, and test-taking environments.”
The patent also goes on to say that police and government agencies way use it to “blackout” conditions where covert operations or situations where they don’t want people using cell phones. This technology could help police develop and sustain a police state before we even know it. Without video evidence of such events people won’t know it’s happening until it is happening to them. In which case, may be too late to do anything about it. Stay informed and be active in reporting any police brutality you see while you still can. Below is a video of Ana Kasparian talking about the technology and here is a link to the Apple patent:
If Apple gets a patent on the technology and does not license it to other phone companies, then that means the other companies won’t be able to implement it, which means I’ll buy the other guys phones. First Time I’ve seen a patent application that could actually cause a reduction in the sale quantity of a product. Oh >> I got rid of my smart phones and now use dumb trac fones paid for by the minute. now have reduced from $1200 per year apple smart phone fees to $200 per year. Moving nearly all my calls to the internet phones.