5G could be Nineteen Eighty-Four on steroids
Richard Fernandez has a scary article about the threats posed by 5G: “Whoever Controls 5G Will Be Able to Surveil and Control the Planet. Will It Be the U.S. or China?”
That’s a title that grabs attention. It’s based in part on this article appearing in the NY Times:
At the click of a mouse … the police [in a part of China] can pull up live video from any surveillance camera … passing through one of the thousands of checkpoints in the city.
To demonstrate, she showed how the system could retrieve the photo, home address and official identification number of a woman who had been stopped at a checkpoint on a major highway. The system sifted through billions of records, then displayed details of her education, family ties, links to an earlier case and recent visits to a hotel and an internet cafe.
Fernandez writes:
The combination of ubiquitous sensors and database fusion has allowed the Communist Party to create “virtual cages” for millions of people. It’s easy with Internet of Things technology to turn off an individual’s credit card, phone, car, refrigerator, etc., should he stray into a proscribed zone.
The Times notes the nightmare, saying that “it is also a vision that some of President Trump’s aides have begun citing in a push for tougher action against Chinese companies in the intensifying trade war. Beyond concerns about market barriers, theft and national security, they argue that China is using technology to strengthen authoritarianism at home and abroad — and that the United States must stop it.”
It’s interesting that the Times seems to be reporting on this without being critical of Trump. It’s also interesting that the article seems to emphasize the fact that it’s being used right now to clamp down on a particular ethnic minority in China (members of which happen to be Muslim), rather than the terrifying capacity of the system itself:
A New York Times investigation drawing on government and company records as well as interviews with industry insiders found that China is in effect hard-wiring Xinjiang for segregated surveillance, using an army of security personnel to compel ethnic minorities to submit to monitoring and data collection while generally ignoring the majority Han Chinese, who make up 36 percent of Xinjiang’s population.
It is a virtual cage that complements the indoctrination camps in Xinjiang where the authorities have detained a million or more Uighurs and other Muslims in a push to transform them into secular citizens who will never challenge the ruling Communist Party. The program helps identify people to be sent to the camps or investigated, and keeps tabs on them when they are released.
More advanced technology plus totalitarian control equals nightmare. The concept of the telescreen was comparatively primitive in the technological sense, but Orwell understood the impulse and the possibilities all too well.
More from the Times:
Human Rights Watch, which obtained and analyzed the app [used as part of the surveillance], said it helped the authorities spot behavior that they consider suspicious, including extended travel abroad or the use of an “unusual” amount of electricity.
The app, which the Times examined, also allows police officers to flag people they believe have stopped using a smartphone, have begun avoiding the use of the front door in coming and going from home, or have refueled someone else’s car.
The police use the app at checkpoints that serve as virtual “fences” across Xinjiang. If someone is tagged as a potential threat, the system can be set to trigger an alarm every time he or she tries to leave the neighborhood or enters a public place…
On a recent visit to one checkpoint in Kashgar, a line of passengers and drivers, nearly all Uighur, got out of their vehicles, trudged through automated gates made by C.E.T.C. and swiped their identity cards.
“Head up,” the machines chimed as they photographed the motorists and armed guards looked on.
There are smaller checkpoints at banks, parks, schools, gas stations and mosques, all recording information from identity cards in the mass surveillance database.
Identification cards are also needed to buy knives, gasoline, phones, computers and even sugar. The purchases are entered into a police database used to flag suspicious behavior or individuals…
Much more at the link.
Fernandez adds:
Whoever controls 5G will be able to surveil and control the planet. Those in charge of the network could be omniscient and potentially omnipotent over unprotected man-made systems. To guard against China ruling this kingdom, the Trump administration has banned U.S. companies, most notably Google, from selling technology to Chinese giant Huawei.
The urgency of the challenge was underscored by The Hill’s comparison of the situation to Apollo. “We are in another innovation race right now. The race to 5G [is] a contest that could have more far-reaching effects than the race to the moon. The Trump administration deserves credit for articulating a policy that aims to see America win the race to 5G.” Steve Bannon had an even more extreme formulation: “It is a massive national security issue to the West. The executive order is 10 times more important than walking away from the trade deal. It [Huawei] is a major national security threat, not just to the US but to the rest of the world. We are going to shut it down.”
The technical aspect of this is not something I understand. But I think I get the principle.
[NOTE: I believe this story may be related:
How do you kill a company? The answer, in the context of Chinese electronics giant Huawei, appears to be deprivation, removing ready access to the elements that distinguish smartphones from very expensive chunks of anodized aluminum and glass. The latest blow: Chip designer ARM has reportedly severed ties with the company. Huawei could arguably survive without Google. Without ARM? Not so much.
It’s important to clarify that nothing at this point is certain, or permanent. The BBC first reported ARM’s move Wednesday morning, citing an internal memo that noted ARM’s use of “US origin technology,” which makes it subject to a sweeping ban put in place by the Trump administration. ARM finally confirmed the ban Wednesday afternoon.]
A predator recognizes another predator.
7th century Islam meets 1984…
Muhammad has provoked China’s “Thought Police”
Fascinating piece, though I may be a bit prejudiced as the second author on the Times article is my nephew 🙂
The concern is not limited to 5G, though thank God it is Trump and not Barack Hussein who has his hands on the wheel of the ship of state.
It is also about Facebook, Instagram and others of the social media, who invade our very beings, track our every step, and sell the data! They know when you’ve been good or bad, so be good for goodness’ sake! Also worrying is that the use of Facebook, etc. seems by objective studies to be addictive.
Does anyone care? Nooooo….
One thing that needs to happen right now is for public security cameras to be removed from every location bar actual public buildings.
I too am very frightened by this “Social Credit” system and the fact that everybody lives in a goldfish bowl.
I have seen pundits lately opining that we should have such a system here.
I don’t know what kind of blinders anyone who thinks that could possibly be wearing.
(I once heard “libertarian” Jim Rogers enthusing over the marvellous bicycle jaunt he had taken across China, and how wonderful it was to see all the happy peasants working on the farms. –The trip was in 1988.)
And Joe Biden is owned by the ChiComs.
“C’mon Man.”
He’s such a moron.
I have seen pundits lately opining that we should have such a system here.
Who?
Such control gives Dems “those” kind of dreams. Us, nightmares.
This is such a vast topic, and with the exception of concrete examples inside China, there is not a great deal of hard information being presented.
The State Dept. just issued a warning that the large number Chinese made drones currently used inside the U.S. could be sending data back to China. What kind of data under what circumstances? None of the articles that I’ve seen suggest anything specific. If it is just images and video, that is one lower level of threat. However, drones are usually Wi-Fi enabled, and nearly all “secured” Wi-Fi communication is hackable That would be a much higher level threat.
Obviously Huawei networking hardware of any sort is a potential threat. That their hardware is now so effective and cheap is (was?) spurring its adoption around the world. (It is so much cheaper to steal technology that develop it.)
My limited knowledge is that 5G is primarily the same type of stuff as 3G or 4G, just lots faster. (Much higher frequencies more limited to shorter line of sight transmission.) The speed could enable things not possible before, but I think we’ve been living with the capability for these threats for a considerable time now, but no one told us anything about it.
For example, the Wall Street Journal used to repeat endlessly that the NSA is only capable of looking at the “metadata” that our phones and smart phones generate. As though this is only like looking at LUDs (calling time & number records) when in fact the metadata can include precise and frequent GPS location data from smart phones even if location settings are turned off.
Don’t do social media, have a flip phone, and rarely comment on line except here. I am more concerned that the feds know I have long been a lifetime member of the NRA, plus a member of GOA, and Iowa Gun Owners. The ‘deep state’ surveillance agencies are scarier than Bejing. Fear their powers more than foreigners. Also fear Google, Amazon, Apple, and our digital tech masters in general. Paranoia is common sense.
If you want an idea how it works, try the electronic Console game “Watchdogs” .
(1 and 2).
Of course, you’ll have to remember that in order to “play” it, you must have a mineable account with the nice folks (and “our associates”) at X-Box.
And the tech reflected in THAT is “old”.
I think 5G is currently being overhyped, both its potential for good and for ill. For example, it’s being asserted that 5G will allow doctors to conduct remote surgeries. Actually, unless the doctor wants to do the surgery from the golf course, wireline communication works just fine for that. The real issue, which applies to *both* wirelines and 5G, is ensuring proper guaranteed low latency and path redundancy.
As far as surveillance goes, London has long had surveillance camera all over the place, without benefit of 5G.
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This sort of thing is no doubt related to the huge amount of Chinese immigration. When I was interviewing military recruits in LA, almost 20% of the Army recruits were Chinese nationals joining the army in a program that grants citizenship after a successful service. Eastern Los Angeles is mostly Chinese in well off areas like Monterey Park. That was not a wealthy suburb.
Bottom line is China knows how to back door data and steal technology. It is always better for us to lead any broadband development whether or not 5G becomes the conduit. Kudos to this administration for calling them out and taking action against Huawei.
iThat’s assuming Trum’s 5g doesn’t microwave the human life energy out of your cells.
It’s not 5g that is scary, it IS the “social credit” system that commie China is leading on. It will be coming soon to London, which already has large numbers of cameras.
Most people, most of the time, are willing to give up “freedom” (a little) for “security”. This is the deep state growth threat. Poverty programs do not end poverty (or else the org would lose its mission!); security programs do not provide security (or else there would be no need for the org to get bigger!).
The useful idiots who want socialism, often want physical and financial security — as well as Moral Superiority. The PC-Klan thought police are coming.
How did Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys) put it:
“Knock Knocka on your front door.
It’s the suede-denim secret police.
They have come for you uncool niece…” (California uber alles)
They’re coming. It’s a growing problem.
A big partial solution will be a Job Guarantee — to help provide more financial security so less “security” will be demanded by the SJ Despots.
You’re gonna moderate the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFmPUELATFc&list=PL-z_v904J2w-3k5R_PfT8PLcZx-g1Ghjl
The US Missile Sparrow instructor link, Neo? Or is it because mentioning the moon landing is out of the game, given the Op’s mention of Apollo (2).
The urgency of the challenge was underscored by The Hill’s comparison of the situation to Apollo.
People here can’t talk about the moon when the OP urges the challenge of the comparison with Apollo.
Is the Moon flat too?
Of course it is flat, and not even real! You never see the “dark” side do you? Point proven. ;-0
But maybe the Moon is real;
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+wallace+and+gromit+on+the+moon&view=detail&mid=430F621AC435746A982B430F621AC435746A982B&FORM=VIRE
Art Deco on May 25, 2019 at 6:38 pm said:
One thing that needs to happen right now is for public security cameras to be removed from every location bar actual public buildings.
* * *
Surveillance inside and outside convenience store in Portland captures would-be thief pulling hatchet on store clerk.
Clerk carefully shows thief his pistol.
Thief runs away.
Clerk is fired for having unauthorized weapon in the store.
Who wins from this surveillance game, and who loses?
https://libertyunyielding.com/2019/05/25/oregon-clerk-fired-after-pulling-gun-on-hatchet-bearing-attacker-causing-attacker-to-flee/