Now, here is an interesting question: does a ‘roving wiretap’ give authorisation to bug every conversation you have?
The US has passed ‘roving wiretap’ laws. Until that point, it was necessary for a warrant to be obtained for every telephone the government wished to tap. Now, a warrant can be issued against a person, rather than a particular telephone line.
So far so sensible.
But a judge has now ruled that the same procedure can allow software to be installed on your mobile telephone which will turn the microphone on, even when you think the device is ‘off’. In effect, using wiretap warrants (nominally about telephone conversations) to allow a much more comprehensive sort of surveillance.
It’s an interesting development. I wonder how long it will stand up in court.
A particularly worrying development, as the article linked to notes, is that ‘malicious hackers’ have taken advantage of the same functionality. It remains unclear whether this facility has been deliberately built into telephones, or is simply a function of their becoming more programmable.