surveillance - Blog - Andreas Wiebe

22 Apr 2025

2 min

Facial Recognition at Protests: Why We All Need to Pay Attention

What really worries me isn’t just the technology—it’s the effect it has. If people start thinking twice about going to a protest because they’re scared of being identified and punished later, we’ve got a serious problem. [...]

11 Sep 2024

2 min

The consequences of mass surveillance: How the collected data is used

The big problem is that there’s essentially a constant leak, when commercial and state mass surveillance deliberately collects data, shares it and uses it to manipulate and control people for financial or political gain. [...]

Tags: surveillance collected data manipulate control people targeting mass surveillance

19 Dec 2023

2 min

Software company Palantir – a superstar of the surveillance industry?

Among other things, Palantir is said to have been involved in spying on activists and journalists, discriminating against employees, manipulating elections and violating data protection rights. [...]

Tags: Palantir analyze the data surveillance customer network US company surveillance industry

05 Jul 2023

2 min

Grocery discounter Aldi in London: The dark side of digitization

But the Aldi store in London sets questionable new standards. Before a customer can access sausage, rolls, cheese and vegetables, he or she must scan a QR code. Only after this has been accepted by the system do the barriers open and the store can be entered. [...]

Tags: Aldi QR-Code London digitization Discounter surveillance

19 Apr 2023

2 min

Biometric surveillance

The vision of total surveillance in public space is taking shape with the rapid development of biometric systems. Horror scenarios would be conceivable in which cameras are linked together in public spaces and track a person fully automatically [...]

Tags: Biometric surveillance Facial recognition biometric surveillance BKA 1984

28 Feb 2023

3 min

Eufy cameras under criticism

Surveillance cameras are used in public spaces, in many companies, but also in private households. Those who purchase this type of technology primarily expect greater security. Hardly anyone would think that the surveillance cameras themselves could be a security risk. [...]

Tags: cameras Eufy Camera surveillance Cloud Live stream

09 Jan 2023

1 min

Monitoring with Clearview

Clearview facial recognition is able to identify people very accurately. However, all prevailing rules and laws should always be observed. Otherwise, people’s privacy can quickly be restricted, which should be considered urgently [...]

Tags: Clearview Software identify monitor people surveillance

21 Dec 2022

2 min

What is the social credit system?

This applies, for example, to political attitudes or socially acceptable behavior. Thus, the social credit system has a kind of educational function. [...]

Tags: social-credit-system transparent China databases surveillance Facial recognition

11 Jul 2022

2 min

Total surveillance in the car

Different systems are combined, such as speed limiters, cruise control and traffic sign recognition. This is intended to provide support for the driver. The permitted speed is immediately detected and checked. [...]

Tags: car surveillance cockpit data protection data traffic

03 Jun 2022

5 min

American phone monitoring company demonstrates surveillance powers

Anomaly Six, a secretive government contractor, claims to monitor the movements of billions of phones around the world and unmask spies with the press of a button. [...]

Tags: monitoring surveillance Anomaly Six spying Phone-tracking Anomaly 6

25 May 2022

3 min

Mass surveillance is the wrong way

In the draft law on combating child sexual abuse, the EU Commission describes one of the most sophisticated mass surveillance apparatuses ever deployed outside China. [...]

Tags: EU-Commission Screening CSAM surveillance private messages protection

12 May 2022

2 min

Microchip - RFID chip under the skin - curse or blessing

An RFID chip also has disadvantages, because these implants can also be used for espionage. [...]

Tags: Microchip RFID chip unter the skin barcode surveillance

20 Apr 2022

1 min

Privacy Shield 2.0 - Small first steps of the EU and USA

Finally, there is news regarding the successor for the agreement - meaning the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework. This should regulate and ensure a secure exchange of data. Of course, there are also reactions and criticism to this. [...]

Tags: Privacy Shield data exchange agreement Safe Harbor TADPF surveillance

14 Mar 2022

1 min

CIA runs its own mass surveillance program

The 1981 presidential decree is the basis for the CIA so that masses of data on U.S. citizens and foreigners are collected. However, there is no parliamentary control of this. This happens beyond the elementary democratic oversight. [...]

Tags: surveillance CIA program financial data blackened areas spies

08 Nov 2021

2 min

Surveillance via facial recognition - the end of privacy?

An enormously large facial database has been developed in America, and the numerous images come mainly from social networks. This database is already being used by U.S. authorities. However, facial recognition is [...]

Tags: Facial recognition research facilitate advertisers RECOGNITION surveillance

04 Nov 2021

2 min

What is Google's Idle Detection?

With Google Chrome 94 there have been a lot of new things again. Incidentally, this also includes the API called Idle Detection. However, Mozilla and Apple developers are more than critical of this [...]

Tags: Google Chrome94 Idle Detection API surveillance userdata

31 Mar 2020

5 min

Data protection officers warn! Surveillance on a large scale! ‌

In various European and international countries, the state now accesses the previously and continuously collected data from the movement analysis of users. [...]

Tags: GDPR surveillance Corona virus data collection data protection

26 Mar 2020

4 min

Beware! Corona virus - License for mass surveillance?!

In Austria, Italy and Germany, people are monitored by respective telecommunications providers, this is now being discussed in Switzerland. Is cell phone tracking a sensible solution to contain the corona virus, or will the state have a powerful mass surveillance tool at its feet? [...]

Tags: Corona virus surveillance telecommunications cell phone tracking privacy