The internet is the 21st century's nervous system and it has made universal surveillance a reality. In the past, even the most repressive authoritarian states would reach a point where it was cheaper to guarantee social stability with schools and hospitals rather than with guns and surveillance devices. But the automation of surveillance has moved this point dramatically. Where the Stasi needed an entire army to surveil one country, East Germany, the NSA and its Five Eyes partners can surveil the whole planet with a single battalion.According to internet freedom advocate Cory Doctorow, it will get worse before it gets better. The Internet of Things creates the potential for everyday devices to be used by spy agencies, criminals and authoritarian states to commit wholesale mischief.

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