Privacy concerns have become front and center in recent years.
Whistleblowers like Edward Snowden have exposed massive amounts of spying on American citizens.
Now the government is investing in one surveillance program that will leave your jaw on the floor.
Government surveillance is about to get weirdly more sophisticated
The revelation that the NSA and the CIA were spying on American citizens without warrants was truly shocking, but that was not the end of mass surveillance.
The means of monitoring people will only get more sophisticated.
And the Office of the Director of National Intelligence just released a memo explaining the development of clothing that can spy on people.
At least $22 million of taxpayer dollars will be going toward “SMART ePANTS.”
How cute.
The memo stated that the “Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)…recently launched a cutting-edge program that aims to make performance-grade, computerized clothing a reality. The Smart Electrically Powered and Networked Textile Systems (SMART ePANTS) program represents the largest single investment to develop Active Smart Textiles (AST) that feel, move, and function like any garment. Resulting innovations stand to provide the Intelligence Community (IC), Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies with durable, ready-to-wear clothing that can record audio, video, and geolocation data.”
The pitch from the government is always that these surveillance tools will help keep Americans safe, but they never show much concern about how they can be used on Americans in violation of their privacy.
The memo added that the “eTextile technology could also assist personnel and first responders in dangerous, high-stress environments, such as crime scenes and arms control inspections without impeding their ability to swiftly and safely operate.”
Communist-style surveillance comes to undergarments
It’s already easy to see how technology like this could be abused.
SMART ePANTS Program Manager Dr. Dawson Cagle explained, “IARPA is proud to lead this first-of-its-kind effort for both the IC and broader scientific community which will bring much-needed innovation to the field of ASTs…To date no group has committed the time and resources necessary to fashion the first integrated electronics that are stretchable, bendable, comfortable, and washable like regular clothing.”
Communist China uses mass surveillance to control its population, and many leaders and tech entrepreneurs in the West openly speak about the CCP with reverence for its ability to get things done irrespective of constitutional rights.
The SMART ePANTS program is desperately in need of proper oversight.
Stay tuned to Unmuzzled News for any updates to this ongoing story.
