George Orwell’s 1984 predicted a paranoid state that keeps track of everyone’s movement.
Recent revelations about some of London’s recycling bins tracking our data have shades of just that.
Renew, the startup behind the scheme, installed 100 recycling bins with digital screens before the 2012 Olympics. The purpose was to capture the proximity, speed, duration and manufacturer of passing smartphone.
Thankfully the company has said it is no longer conducting trials.
However, data, and what people do with our data, is becoming a bigger issue than ever before.
Today, there is approximately one CCTV camera for every 32 citizens in the UK, with 1.85 million cameras watching our every move day and night. But it’s not just the government who’s watching us
Tech giants are watching us through their software. Google can collect information to profile its users according to their web searches and every time you add to your Facebook timeline, data is passed on for its own commercial gain.
The likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s compile details of our spending habits through loyalty schemes.
Are you scared? Let us know your thoughts.
