[blhack]

Isn't there a pretty big difference between something installed by your government, that is illegal to disable or shut off, and something that you willingly install and turn on?

Just where I'm sitting right now, there are at least 3 cameras pointed at me. My laptop, my girlfriend's laptop, and the camera on my phone, but they're all (with reasonable probability) turned off right now.

Implying that this is comparable to the videoscreens talked about in 1984, when it really isn't, means that if there ever is something similar to that, people will be a lot less receptive to criticism of it. Boy who cried wolf an all that.

[mintplant]

I mean, it's a joke. But to your point, I could imagine a product becoming popular, then ubiquitous, then effectively mandatory and exploited for control. There's Sesame Credit in China which is applying this to social networking (look it up, it's a terrifying idea). State involvement isn't necessary: see Facebook ("Why don't you have a Facebook?" in any social situation, or the reported trend of employers asking to see prospective hires' accounts), or smartphones (loaded with surveillance libraries from adtech companies).

* Also, they weren't "videoscreens" in 1984 but "telescreens", producing audio while recording and transmitting audio and video. That happens to match the Echo Look, form factor excepted.