Youre watching me.
Stop watching me.
No its fine, Im used to it.
Did you know that some people think we are being contantly watched - by random people,
by big companies, even by governments.
The FBI is an organization that has become renowned for this.
Are they watching you?
Well, this list will help you find out.
My name is Danny Burke this is the top 10 ways the FBI Watches You.
Coming at number 10 we have Surveillance Cameras.
This is a very literal way of watching you.
Goverments all over the world install cameras in public places to deter crime.
Its estimated there are over 350 million surevillance cameras in the world - it works out to around
1 camera for every 20 people on Earth.
America and the FBI are included in this.
Of course, the FBI isnt sitting there monitoring public surveillance cameras all day every
day - the watching is usually done afterwards.
If they know you were in a busy public place on a certain day and a certain time, they
can probably find a camera to take a closer look …
Next up at number 9 we have Computer Cameras.
By this I mean computers, laptops, phones, tablets - anything you use that has a camera
could be tapped into by the government and used to watch you.
The whole putting tape over your webcam thing became a bit of a meme over the years but
there may actually be some truth to this.
In 2013 - a report by the Washington Post revealed the FBI has the ability to activate
webcams for investigations if they have permission to do so from a judge.
To get that, theyd need a warrant and probable cause - so, as long as youre not doing anything
illegal, you shouldnt need to use that tape …
Next up at number 8 we have Electronic Toll Collectors.
Heres one some of you guys might not be aware of.
Electronic Toll Collectors have become more popular in recent years - a person drives
up to a toll booth on a major road and pays using special cards that deduct the price
from their prepaid balance.
However, it also keeps a record of when and where the transaction occurred.
A lot of people have raised concerns about who has access to this information.
Governments could track peoples whereabouts without ever having to see them or request
a court order …
Coming in at number 7 now we have Location Tracking. 20 years ago, if youd told people
they have the option to have their every move tracked and the information given to big companies
who can do what they want with is - most people might have said no way, are you crazy.
These days though, thats exactly what location services on our phone are.
Apps will often request to know your exact GPS location in order to -improve their services-
for you.
While that may be true, some people find it worrying that the Government and companies
can track you through GPS.
Sometimes you don't even need to give permission - simply having a phone on you is more than
enough.
Moving on to number 6 now we have TVs.
I didnt include this one in the computer watching because it felt like it needs its own space.
There is a growing concern that the new wave of Smart TVs have the ability to spy on you
using the built in camera and microphone.
A WikiLeaks release revealed that Samsung smart TV owners were at risk of being spied
on by the government.
The documents made reference to a programme called Weeping Angel - an attack designed
by the Americas CIA and the UKs MI5 to make Samsung smart TVs look like they are turned
off when in reality - they could be watching and listening to everything in the room.
With over 40 million Smart TVs in the US alone - this could become a hotly discussed topic
in the future of surveillance.
Next up at number 5 now we have Wiretaps.
Wiretapping is a form of spying by listening in on a persons communications.
Historically, it got its name because it involved an electrical tap on a telephone line.
Over the years, the term wiretapping has sometimes encompassed more forms of communication such
as email and text messaging.
Under American law, a Federal intelligence agency such as the FBI can get approval for
wiretaps from a special court or from the Attorney General.
The FBI has to jump through a lot of hoops if they want to wiretap you and they have
to prove to a court that you are probably committing a serious crime.
The list of crimes is long though and ranges from the gravely serious such as terrorism
to the just plain illegal misuse of passports.
Coming in at number 4 we have Biometric Information.
More and more companies are using fingerprints, eye scanners and voice recognition as a secure
verification tool.
Well, governments like where this is going.
You may have had your eye or fingerprint scanned in to the system when you first arrived in
another country - I know I did when I first visited the US.
Between company records and the governments own - it could be possible one day to see
where you are at every minute of the day …
Next up at number 3 now we have Business Records.
Like a few of the other ones on this list, this doesnt involve physically watching you
but in this day and age - thats an old fashioned way of thinking anyway.
The patriot act was created in the wake of 9/11 and involved a lot of changes to what
the government could or couldnt legally do when investigating terrorism.
One of of these changes allows the FBI to obtain a persons bank statements, library
records, medical records, business papers and any other paper trail they have.
Some people are shocked to find out the FBI doesnt even need to show probable cause to
request this information.
Next up at number 2 we have License Plate Readers.
You may have seen these around before - cameras that are specifically designed to snap pictures
of a cars license plate - and by that I mean every car that passes.
At a rate of thousands per minute, these readers collect the license plate number, date, time
and location of every scan.
Civil Liberties groups in America have complained that this indiscriminate monitoring is not
OK on people who arent a threat.
As these cameras become more numerous, there may be no road where the government doesnt
know where you are …
And finally at number 1 now we have Browsing.
Lets talk about cookies - not the fun kind.
Many websites retain information about you, your location and your browsing history.
These -cookies- are then fed into huge databases so that market analysis companies so that
they can figure out how to sell to you better.
A by product of this is that if the FBI requests this information for an investigation - they
can watch back a persons entire internet history and where they went in the online world - in
this day and age, perhaps thats more important than seeing where you physically are …