Russia Today reports: "Apple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, from any public gathering or venue they deem 'sensitive', and 'protected from externalities.'"

Onlookers take photographs with their phones as members of the Occupy Boston movement are joined by students from local colleges and universities demonstrating against the cost of education in downtown Boston. (photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Police May Block Mobile Devices Via Apple

By Russia Today

09 September 12

pple has patented a piece of technology which would allow government and police to block transmission of information, including video and photographs, from any public gathering or venue they deem "sensitive", and "protected from externalities."

In other words, these powers will have control over what can and cannot be documented on wireless devices during any public event. And while the company says the affected sites are to be mostly cinemas, theaters, concert grounds and similar locations, Apple Inc. also says "covert police or government operations may require complete ‘blackout' conditions."

"Additionally," Apple says," the wireless transmission of sensitive information to a remote source is one example of a threat to security. This sensitive information could be anything from classified government information to questions or answers to an examination administered in an academic setting."

The statement led many to believe that authorities and police could now use the patented feature during protests or rallies to block the transmission of video footage and photographs from the scene, including those of police brutality, which at times of major events immediately flood news networks and video websites.

Apple patented the means to transmit an encoded signal to all wireless devices, commanding them to disable recording functions.

Those policies would be activated by GPS, and WiFi or mobile base-stations, which would ring-fence ("geofence") around a building or a "sensitive area" to prevent phone cameras from taking pictures or recording video.

Apple may implement the technology, but it would not be Apple's decision to activate the "feature" – it would be down governments, businesses and network owners to set such policies, analyzes ZDNet technology website.

Having invented one of the most sophisticated mobile devices, Apple now appears to be looking for ways to restrict its use.

"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," it explains in the patent. "The result is that these wireless devices can often annoy, frustrate, and even threaten people in sensitive venues."

The company's listed "sensitive" venues so far include mostly meetings, the presentation of movies, religious ceremonies, weddings, funerals, academic lectures, and test-taking environments.

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+130 # NanFan 2012-09-09 09:08

So now we have a police state extraordinaire. Thanks, Apple! What happened to the First Amendment? And this word "sensitive" has just replaced this fake and fraudulent war on "terror." Where is the "terror" other than when the police brutalize peaceful protestors or people just walking down the street because they "look suspicious."

And how is a wedding or funeral or academic lecture "sensitive" in and of itself, unless there has been a known threat? This is America????????

I look for some hacker group to figure out a way to override or destroy this Apple "feature."

N.

-38 # Mannstein 2012-09-09 13:41

The other word that's been forgotten is National Security which trumps everything.

+31 # Noni77 2012-09-09 16:11

"National Security" is being used time and time again to cover up criminal activity of those abusing their security clearances for self-aggrandize ment and enrichment. At the National Security Agency, they have promoted a cabal of sexual predators into management who indeed prey on young employees entering the ranks and snyone coming to their aid or trying to report this is attacked, stripped of their clearances on bogus charges fabricated in retaliation, and fired for trying to do the right thing. But you won't hear the names if the depraved and guilty - that would be a "threat to national security" to find out the Office Chief of NSA's "Weapons and Space" is a sexual predator.

0 # mim 2012-09-12 14:38

Amen, Mannstein and Noni. Ask Richard Nixon.

+13 # RLF 2012-09-10 05:09

Good ole Apple...once progressive and subversive...no w Fascist!

+126 # oldleftie 2012-09-09 09:10

all it will mean, as far as I can see, is that we old time journalists will have to do again what we have done for years, namely gather the data, process the images, and wait until we get out of the area to send the story to our outlets. They're not going to be able to affect any recording device which isn't online. Use your "airplane mode".

+34 # NanFan 2012-09-09 09:41

Quoting oldleftie:

Use your "airplane mode".

Great idea!

N.

+59 # fishmother 2012-09-09 10:13

But that's not all it means ~ a lot of wrongfully brutal arrests have come under immediate, in the moment,meaning no time to find a proper setting, scrutiny because a bystander caught it on their cell phone.

+10 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 11:59

Still the best way

+11 # MJnevetS 2012-09-10 05:59

Except the purpose is to prevent the video being released BEFORE the authorities have a chance to confiscate or destroy your phone. If it wasn't for the ability to instantly post video, police would have been able to lie with impunity in certain cases where they claimed one thing (had believed they destroyed the video) but the video proved another version. There is NOTHING that happens outside in public purview (other than copyrighted performances) which might be protected. Police behavior during the performance of their job has been ruled by our courts NOT to be protected. Thus, there is no LAWFUL purpose to this function (except, perhaps in movies theaters, while movies are playing, or at plays or live concerts, if the performers so designate) But NEVER at a political rally, or protest, or to prevent the monitoring of police behavior!

-1 # David Heizer 2012-09-10 19:49

"Apple patented the means to transmit an encoded signal to all wireless devices, commanding them to disable recording functions. ...to prevent phone cameras from taking pictures or recording video."

In other words, the camera ceases to function *at all* in the affected area.

I think it's a reasonable assumption the phone will be listening for this signal even if it's otherwise turned "off" and not checking for email. This scheme would be pretty useless if it was that easy to defeat.

+114 # KrazyFromPolitics 2012-09-09 09:11

As a longtime Mac user, this dismays me to no end. This is an example of technology becoming its own auto-immune disease. Here's this wonderful, and convenient recording device, but if official representatives of city, county, state, or Federal government are misbehaving, or suppressing people's right to assemble and redress their grievances, then we may have to disable your device remotely. Talk about suppressing or covering up evidence before the fact. I fear for my country. The loss of freedom is not worth the perceived "security", when the threat is, in fact, the state.

+63 # politicaleconomist 2012-09-09 10:03

Is it time to quite Apple?

What do you think?

+39 # mdhome 2012-09-09 11:31

yes

+23 # ER444 2012-09-09 12:13

I never joined them !!! Wouldn't own an Apple product !

+14 # in deo veritas 2012-09-09 13:19

To hell with Aopple. I have never bopught one of their products and after this I sure won't. Nobody better get me a pad for Xmas.

+63 # karlarove 2012-09-09 10:10

I am a bit surprised by the dismay of the long time Mac user. Apple is in the business of making money, as is Google. Both companies have a behind the scenes relationship with our government – that would be the Oligarchs that run this country. Apple has done very well due to the loyalty and blindness of their users. We want what we want sometimes at the expense of our own personal liberties or what is best for the whole. Unfortunately, while Steve Job’s vision for the product was/is brilliant, it’s still all about the money. They manufacture in China, they want the tax holiday to repatriate about $67 Billion they keep off shore, with a 5% tax, instead of the 9.8% tax rate they currently pay according to the analysis of their 2011 tax return. NO way, no how do they pay the 35 percent rate that the talking heads say that corporations pay. It just isn’t true.

+11 # KrazyFromPolitics 2012-09-09 13:12

Quoting karlarove:

I am a bit surprised by the dismay of the long time Mac user. Apple is in the business of making money, as is Google. Both companies have a behind the scenes relationship with our government – that would be the Oligarchs that run this country. Apple has done very well due to the loyalty and blindness of their users. We want what we want sometimes at the expense of our own personal liberties or what is best for the whole. Unfortunately, while Steve Job’s vision for the product was/is brilliant, it’s still all about the money. They manufacture in China, they want the tax holiday to repatriate about $67 Billion they keep off shore, with a 5% tax, instead of the 9.8% tax rate they currently pay according to the analysis of their 2011 tax return. NO way, no how do they pay the 35 percent rate that the talking heads say that corporations pay. It just isn’t true.

I know these things. However, The knowledge of these facts doesn't justify it. The dismay of finding out, over the past several years, what Apple is really up to since moving production to China is akin to finding out your grandfather is a mass murderer. Therein lies the dismay.

+4 # karlarove 2012-09-09 18:50

Quoting KrazyFromPolitics:

Quoting karlarove:
I am a bit surprised by the dismay of the long time Mac user. Apple is in the business of making money, as is Google. Both companies have a behind the scenes relationship with our government – that would be the Oligarchs that run this country. Apple has done very well due to the loyalty and blindness of their users. We want what we want sometimes at the expense of our own personal liberties or what is best for the whole. Unfortunately, while Steve Job’s vision for the product was/is brilliant, it’s still all about the money. They manufacture in China, they want the tax holiday to repatriate about $67 Billion they keep off shore, with a 5% tax, instead of the 9.8% tax rate they currently pay according to the analysis of their 2011 tax return. NO way, no how do they pay the 35 percent rate that the talking heads say that corporations pay. It just isn’t true.

I know these things. However, The knowledge of these facts doesn't justify it. The dismay of finding out, over the past several years, what Apple is really up to since moving production to China is akin to finding out your grandfather is a mass murderer. Therein lies the dismay.

If we want things to be different in this country we have to make different choices. So do we let Grandpa keep murdering people or do we lock him up?

+3 # KrazyFromPolitics 2012-09-09 21:33

Quoting karlarove:

Quoting KrazyFromPolitics:
Quoting karlarove:
I am a bit surprised by the dismay of the long time Mac user. Apple is in the business of making money, as is Google. Both companies have a behind the scenes relationship with our government – that would be the Oligarchs that run this country. Apple has done very well due to the loyalty and blindness of their users. We want what we want sometimes at the expense of our own personal liberties or what is best for the whole. Unfortunately, while Steve Job’s vision for the product was/is brilliant, it’s still all about the money. They manufacture in China, they want the tax holiday to repatriate about $67 Billion they keep off shore, with a 5% tax, instead of the 9.8% tax rate they currently pay according to the analysis of their 2011 tax return. NO way, no how do they pay the 35 percent rate that the talking heads say that corporations pay. It just isn’t true.

I know these things. However, The knowledge of these facts doesn't justify it. The dismay of finding out, over the past several years, what Apple is really up to since moving production to China is akin to finding out your grandfather is a mass murderer. Therein lies the dismay.
If we want things to be different in this country we have to make different choices. So do we let Grandpa keep murdering people or do we lock him up?

Touché. Let's lock him up. Let's grab the banksters along the way.

+14 # mdhome 2012-09-09 11:32

Glad I just bought android phone instead of iphone, but probably they will be next.

+7 # wwway 2012-09-09 12:46

Android technology isn't far behind. They will aid government for tax payer dollars.

+11 # Mannstein 2012-09-09 13:46

Wonder if the same technology can be used against the powers that be like blocking drone video or better still hacking into a drone's commands it receives from a ground controller? Wouldn't that be cute.

+55 # pianosaurus rex 2012-09-09 09:14

Don’t worry too much. First we had the radar detector for the roads and highways; then shortly thereafter we had the radar buster….

There will always be a yang to the establishment’s ying.

+30 # NanFan 2012-09-09 09:43

Quoting pianosaurus rex:

There will always be a yang to the establishment’s ying.

But...at what cost to innocent people before that "yang" gets going?

N.

+4 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:00

There has always been a price for freedom

+8 # politicaleconomist 2012-09-09 10:05

Do not count on it.

Even if there is a technology, it may not be feasible and if feasible it may not be allowed.

+3 # noitall 2012-09-09 11:50

Blind trust.

+41 # Barkingcarpet 2012-09-09 09:25

senseless censorship. Why do we put up with this b.s. folks. What a failure of human potential and spirit, as we give power to the thugs.

+7 # phrixus 2012-09-09 13:03

"Why do we put up with this b.s. folks." quoted from Barkingcarpet. Although I hate to answer a question with a question I have to ask, "And what exactly do we do about it?" We no longer hold the reins to our government, they are held by corporations, etc. What is your practical solution? How do we fix this problem?

+4 # Barkingcarpet 2012-09-09 20:15

"practical" solution? Education and beliefs are likely the most important and "practical."
We need to take the "reins" back. Being "educated" nonconsumers may be the most direct means of change. Do not buy anything does not support good change. Live with honor and integrity, and stand up for things which are "more" sustainable, and refuse to put up with b.s. and profiteering. Be vocal. Yes, WE can, but only if we do the work.

0 # mim 2012-09-12 15:10

What if there's no company that produces what you need that supports good change?

+65 # DaveM 2012-09-09 09:27

Blocking cell phones is unlawful, at least for private citizens. Allowing something like this to be used by law enforcement is, in effect, the creation of Orwell's Thought Police (mind, they're already here in many forms).

So...we'd best carry digital cameras as well as cell phones. There are many available at low prices which are hidden inside pens or wrist watches fit under clothing with the lens and microphone appearing to be a shirt button. Try eBay.

If the surveillance society wants to stop its citizens from "looking back at them", we should be on guard and prepare ourselves accordingly.

+2 # mdhome 2012-09-09 11:30

some good ideas, but should not be necessary to buy a bunch of extra junk.

+7 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:02

Let the spy games begin

+2 # salvatore 2012-09-10 04:45

Quoting KittatinyHawk:

Let the spy games begin

There is a big alternative and it's open source: ANDROID. I know Google, who is behind Android, could attempt the same position, except the Android platform isn't so nearly locked down, it is more hackable. The software and hardware come from separate companies, it is not one, monolithic company like Apple. Android is inherently more open, more democratic.

Short of Android, there are many who Jailbreak apple devices, then put their own software on the devices. Whatever features enable this lock-down are controlled by software, and that is always hackable.

I think the police/governme nt's attempt to shutdown people at the device is folly. People will find a way around it.

0 # David Heizer 2012-09-10 20:01

Quoting salvatore:

I think the police/government's attempt to shutdown people at the device is folly. People will find a way around it.

A determined few will, most won't, just like most don't bother encrypting their email. The average random citizen who just happens to be standing there, cellphone in hand, as an abuse unfolds will in all likelihood be blocked.

+49 # Buddha 2012-09-09 09:39

Isn't this the same thing autocrats in the Middle-East tried to do during the Arab Spring, shut down social media and communication? Yep, add this to the Patriot Act, CISPA, NDAA, the militarizaton of our police forces through the DHS and the Drug War creating a gulag state, and you can see the groundwork being laid for autocracy. Well, we had a good 250y run...

+8 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:02

We could have a longer one but got to organize not sit on butts

0 # Buddha 2012-09-12 08:56

Agree, but as someone who WASN'T sitting on my butt and was at the Occupy LA protests, it is clear that "organizing" is exactly what these steps are being taken to block! Our government wants everyone to sit on their butt, enjoying the bread and circuses of the Kardashians on the boob-tube, not out in the streets protesting our own impoverishment and our oppression by the State.

+27 # dipierro4 2012-09-09 09:45

Wow! This is Bashar Assad's dream.

But I guess the folk in places like Syria are just collateral damage. What's really important is that police here in the U.S. be allowed to beat up people in secrecy.

+5 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:03

That has been going on everywhere for centuries This is not new just the technology age is as much a sell out as any other decade

+29 # bingers 2012-09-09 09:49

Time for Apple which has outsourced most of their manufacturing and service and now THIS to suffer another near death experience.

-62 # brux 2012-09-09 10:03

THIS IS NOT A BAD IDEA - IN FACT IT IS NECESSARY ...

THINK about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the terrorists were calling to bases in Pakistan and videoing people's names and faces so the terrorist bases could find out who they were and if they were Jewish so they could be murdered.

Also, apparent bystanders could report back to the base to say where the police or military was when they were reacting.

There is only a potential for a problem here, so wait until it is used and see how it is used. If it becomes abused then limits or laws should be placed on it.

Of course it would be terrible if evil countries like North Korea, Iran or Syria get ahold of this, but there is nothing to say they cannot develop this software on their own, and they do.

The world is a different world these days, sometimes I wish technology did not move so fast.

+26 # noitall 2012-09-09 11:48

Lambs like you lead this republic to the cliff; lamb-like fear causes it to jump. Trust that "potential" problems will be straightened out once realized...not. Your assumption that this country hasn't earned a spot in the "evil" list is based on what??

-10 # brux 2012-09-10 00:56

Just hope you do not get caught in a terrorist trap like Mumbai, and if you read what I said it's not that I am for it, or like it, it's just here and the best we can do is to follow it and regulate it.

If your kid got kidnapped I think you would want to get them back and not have them use the internet to foil police.

The naivete of some people here is amazing.

+3 # salvatore 2012-09-10 06:10

Quoting brux:

...
The naivete of some people here is amazing.

What is blind trust in a higher authority to always do the right thing?

+4 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:05

Or already have and now we are stealing it but it still is a big brother bs

+5 # phrixus 2012-09-09 13:07

"Everyone please take your Soma tablets now like good little sheep."

+2 # brux 2012-09-10 00:56

most of the country is drugged on way or the other.

0 # Buddha 2012-09-12 08:57

Calling for a modern-day "Reichstag Fire" response, eh? Sheep are so easy to shephard.

+49 # 1984 2012-09-09 10:03

Well , here it is at last ----1984. The whole world will become fascist. This is truly terrifying.

+21 # Mamazon 2012-09-09 11:06

It's the thought police... How did Orwell know?

+3 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:06

He knew the hearts of man... Man has always been two faces, both serve him and evil

+4 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:05

Lot already are fascists, nazis etc Evil has lurked in the hearts of men for centuries.

+16 # cordleycoit 2012-09-09 10:22

An where is the Mean Stream Media on this turd on the breakfast table? Averting their eyes and licking master's hand, something they are expert at. There are simple ways around the misuse of technology like Apple is pulling off.One: boycott Apple two: turn the skills reporters have at looking into Apple seeing how and why the do what they do. Three: publishing work arounds (Little Brothers.)
Four: we leave to our techno wing.
Apple will cease to exist after about a year or so. Due to disfavor and hard work.

+19 # Okieangels 2012-09-09 10:59

Licking the master's hand??? Child, they ARE the master's hand!

+1 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:08

They will all link up. But I think I would play it cool. I do not own this crap but if I have nothing to hide, than I would not let fear ride on my back
Skrew the Paranoid Fascists.

+42 # BJH 2012-09-09 10:30

Time to stop buying Apple mobile devices. Between Facebook and Apple, we're being electronically corralled.

+13 # in deo veritas 2012-09-09 13:24

To hell with facebook too.

+2 # in deo veritas 2012-09-09 13:37

Indeed we have to take the blame for this. If we didn't buy these unnecessary gadgets and spend so much time wasted on yapping on them there would be less demand. If machines take over it is because we LET them bdcause we are too lazy to think and acton our own.

+4 # seakat 2012-09-09 14:37

You forgot Google.

+1 # Kootenay Coyote 2012-09-09 16:46

& just how long till other devices follow suit - & what ones may be ahead already???

-23 # Nell H 2012-09-09 10:31

Actually, there is a very important use for a mechanism to block mobile devices. A new way of cheating on tests/quizzes has developed at colleges and universities. Students send the test questions to someone outside the test, who looks up the answers and texts them back to the person taking the test.

Yes, it happens. I've seen it happen.

+9 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:09

Yes people have brought it on themselves with deceit. But people have been selling test answers for decades Bush W sure didn't get all A;s on his own nor many others

+1 # Kootenay Coyote 2012-09-09 16:47

& just how many As did Bush get to get his C+ grade?

+5 # Anarchist 23 2012-09-09 17:44

Wow-cheating on a test-wow-that is a big crime-yep-espec ially when education means practically nothing yet and to get one young people are burdened with a lifetime of indentured servitude to the debt they ran up.

Face it folks, the Fascists may have lost some battles but at the moment it looks like they are winning the war. Still there is hope. ObombO is a big disappointment- but 'Gott Mitt Uns' Romney would be exponentially worse. 'there is no road that has no turning' and that goes for the oligarchical duopoly-but when the turn comes-it does look like the mass of humanity is about to go 'critical' against the rulers-even their technology won't stop the high tide of wrath then.

+3 # MJnevetS 2012-09-10 06:47

There is a difference. A school can issue an absolute rule that no phones will be allowed into class during tests. Antone caught with a phone is automatically flunked. If ANY government were to say this to the general public, then they are controlling their citizens in an autocratic fashion (whether the government is fascist, communist, or megalomaniacal dictator) to the detriment of the people!

+23 # James Smith 2012-09-09 10:35

That only works if you have a smart phone or an iPad or other "mobile device". There are plenty of very small digital cameras that take excellent video and pictures. FTP

+39 # Scottford 2012-09-09 10:47

Dear Apple: It is possible to be part of the One Per Cent without being against the 99. The world's going to need more hackers to protect freedom.

+30 # noitall 2012-09-09 10:49

Boycott any business that colludes against the People's rights.

+5 # Anarchist 23 2012-09-09 17:46

Non-cooperation . Didn't Gandhi among others say that? Better than violent revolution, peaceful non-cooperation .

+20 # Antemedius 2012-09-09 10:59

Stalin would be proud.

+28 # Mamazon 2012-09-09 11:05

Well that makes it easy -- I was going to buy an iPhone and now I won't... Screw Apple -- I'm sure it isn't the legacy that Steve Jobs dreamed of... providing the thought poilce with new tools of oppression.

+24 # walt 2012-09-09 11:07

This is a classic example of fascism when a government acts against its own citizens. Such government behavior sadly sows the seeds of the very revolutions they fear.

The USA is right there too with the NDAA!

+29 # Susan1989 2012-09-09 11:09

Its time to stop buying their products.

+14 # mdhome 2012-09-09 11:25

1 more reason to hate apple.

+23 # WallStWallFlowerGirl 2012-09-09 11:44

Oh, the irony... Society is facing the consequence of taking a bite from the Apple.

It just may be the omnipotence of mobile phones that finally, hopefully unites us, the People, in this country. The apathy in America allows the malfeasance to grow & if more people paid attention to the soap opera on Capitol Hill and rulings such as Citizens United, instead of what a Kardashian wears, we wouldn't be the oligarchy we are today.

Since September of 2001, we have allowed too much compromise "for our good." But is it? A great thinker once warned us about "giving up a little freedom for a little security" and cell phones were centuries away from invention. But there were guns; the only other possession that, if taken away form the Common Man, would be the fire to mobilize a nation- TOGETHER- against the tyranny of government gangs.

No, Rodney King- we cannot just all get along; not while government doesn't want us to.

+16 # Larry2 2012-09-09 12:03

Now will you believe that the USA has now completed the transition to a police state.
First they came for others, next they'll be at your door.

+4 # cafetomo 2012-09-09 12:07

Sounds like an arms race, to me. And Apple wants to sell to both sides. Remember Dr Seuss's "The Sneeches"? Who walked off with all the money? I'm waiting for Apple to patent their "Star-off" machine.

+6 # KittatinyHawk 2012-09-09 12:18

Boycott Apple is a great Start. But the other mobiles will cave in.
Always carry mini cameras, videos. Just for safety reasons against robbers, rapists one should be armed.

If we have nothing to fear....
Now my biggest problem is when you record, send who is going to show it. Journalists already have sold out their integrity by working for Stations who Black Out Truth so who will publish this. After awhile even other Countries will fear publishing lest they lose money. Then you go to Terroristic Countries and your a Treason Criminal. Yes the paranoid CIA needs to continue doing their drugs and believe the world hates them. It does. They have made a dark cruel world...and I hope it caves in on them. They have no natural life.

Boycott Apple, Google. Start learning more hacking tricks...this is your freedom.

Remember today you have Democratic Government...to morrow if the Nazis get in you won't have a mobile device at all.
Will be put to War, on front lines vs their doing a draft that their kids would have to go off to.

HACK BACK. Boycott Those who sell us out. Vote Democrat

+4 # JSRaleigh 2012-09-09 13:03

They'll be running that super-duper-bow l commercial backwards I guess.

+2 # ekogaia 2012-09-09 13:22

An affront to freedom, a hug to the police state by the richest corporation in the world, enriched not so much by superior technology but by figuring out how to lock the public into systems. Apple sucks - just look where and how their stuff is made. Anyone who relies on their crap interfaces deserves to get corralled for being a sheep.

-7 # Rascalndear 2012-09-09 13:40

I smell a rat if this is coming from Russia Today and not from a US or other western source. Could it be a way of jittering Apple stock or upsetting people enough to not buy Apple devices? Just a thought. Russia Today (Toady?) is a PR project of the Russian Government.

-6 # feloneouscat 2012-09-09 14:15

Patented does not mean implemented.

When it is IMPLEMENTED then start screaming that the sky is falling.

Otherwise this is just a "what if" piece.

0 # mim 2012-09-10 20:41

It's a good rule to assume that any technology that exists will be used sooner or later.

And considering how the NYPD has been trying to suppress documentation of what they're doing, I'm sure they'll consider this technology a godsend.

+5 # wrknight 2012-09-09 15:10

Big Brother is watching, listening and censoring your smart phone.

+3 # wrknight 2012-09-09 15:14

This reinforces my predjudice against Apple. I never have and never will purchase an Apple product.

Not only do they collude to control the market with their proprietary architectures, but they export design and manufacturing jobs to other countries at the expense of American workers.

My question is how American is Apple today? It might have been American at one time, but today, Apple is American in name only.

+5 # jcadams 2012-09-09 15:32

If this remains true --- and is not corrected by Apple --- my next upgrade will not be to an iPhone.

+6 # jodavwel 2012-09-09 15:48

Just turn off wifi, or phone receiver, take photos or video, put in memory, go to
different area and transmit photos.

0 # RHytonen 2012-09-09 16:36

Create your own, proprietary direct digital local network, with a nearby repository for the video data for security- AND simultaneously retransmit to the web in real time.

+1 # Joe Bob 2012-09-09 16:50

Time to practice the Goose Step.
Heil wHomever

+2 # MikeM327 2012-09-09 19:16

1)Consider the source: RT News is a Russian government supported "non-profit" news network, the functional equivalent of the Voice of America.
2)RSN primarily aggregates news. This is a fine service, but it lacks the resources to do much independent checking of the accuracy of the stories it reproduces.
3)But what if Apple really has patented this technology. Do you think that the U.S. government agencies would be its only customer? It would be a boon to oil companies that want to suppress videos of damages from the next rig that blows up, the next tanker that spills, or the next pipeline that breaks. Coal companies would love to suppress videos of the next mine that collapses or the next broken sludge dam that pollutes forests, fields and water supplies. Natural gas frackers would be happy to suppress coverage of their inability to contain the highly toxic water noxious fumes their "clean" operations release.
4) It's almost certain that foreign governments, not to mention other international corporations--w hether privately owned or government-fina nced--would soon acquire the technology legally, or by stealth.
5) Before we jump to conclusions, let's try to check things out for ourselves. I started by Googling: Russia Today News Funding.

+2 # fdawei 2012-09-10 00:06

A "wonderful" legacy to the memory of Steve Jobs. Could this have been one of his "terrific" ideas or that of his successor? Whichever, it's a blow to the prestige of this once-vaunted technology and design leader. What can we expect next...automati c recording of all conversation and downloading of pics wherever we happen to be? This is what GWB was hoping for during his reign of terror.
SHAME on you Tim Cook to perpetuate a police state. Perhaps it will first be tested by the NYPD in the Big Apple...what a fitting testament!!!

+3 # Interested Observer 2012-09-10 07:00

The 1% Solution.

(And don't overrate Steve Jobs' commitment to any of your values.)

0 # NAVYVET 2012-09-10 08:36

Soubds as if sinister Steve Jobs is dictating bad technology from the grave.

0 # Kathymoi 2012-09-10 09:51

Yeah. Taking pictures at a wedding is a real problem. The police need to get in on stopping that!!!! They didn't mention stopping observers from capturing evidence of police brutality, but I think the police and the government would be keen to use this technology for that purpose. What do you think?

0 # thoreauvianflake@yahoo.com 2012-09-10 09:54

I didn't go through all of these notes to see if anybody thought of the first thing i thought of when i read this....digital cameras.They cant block those from taking photos,though i must say there are many signs of the police, and some communities in this once great country,dissuad ing average Joe and Mary from taking photos.Meanwhil e look around..the corporations have cameras on us around the clock.I think there's hope for us so long as resistance to all of this corporate power keeps up its momentum. Keep snapping away with those digitals folks.

+1 # OjaiGrandma 2012-09-10 10:40

I have been considering whether to buy another PC or slip into the Apple web. After reading this article I will not be buying a Mini Mac computer. When their bottom line trumps free speech, I say enough is enough. Lets hit them in their pocket book. We are already on a very slippery slope with the numerous disasters globally, environmentally and ethically. Will it take total collapse to bring us to out senses?

+1 # tombird 2012-09-10 14:32

Thanks for the heads up..remember to bring a standard recording device as well...

0 # mim 2012-09-10 20:31

Just when I wonder how it will get worse, I get the answer. In the meantime, while Google lags behind, I can at least stick it to the remaining Apple worshippers from my Android device.

Thanks to all those who gave advice about using older technology. Just remember that when you get out of the "dead zone," send off that newly shot video at your first opportunity.

And learn to write letters, while the Post Office is still there for you.

0 # hjsteed 2012-09-11 05:50

Use GPS satellite and signal processing towers judiciously on your phones, cameras and other electronic devices. The signal targets can be used by drones armed with deadly weapons.

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