Secret Recordings/ Open Lines

Hosted byIan Punnett

Secret Recordings/ Open Lines

About the show

Technology and privacy expert Lauren Weinstein joined guest host Ian Punnett to discuss the ubiquity of recording devices and how often we are being secretly recorded. "If you're in a metropolitan area, in many cities, you could be captured by hundreds or thousands of cameras a day," Weinstein revealed, noting how police cameras, specifically, have opened their own troublesome can of worms. The rules about police cameras, the privacy issues surrounding them, and what the public may have access to are different in every city, he explained. And research is showing police cameras do not make it any easier to determine what has happened in a given situation, Weinstein added.

He commented on the recent revelation about attorney Michael Cohen secretly recording Donald Trump, calling it unethical if the client has not been informed prior to the recording. "There are no standard laws on this and they vary widely here in the US on a state to state basis," he said. In a two-party consent state, the person recording must inform other participants, Weinstein continued. He also described how consent can be given simply by continuing a conversation after having reasonable knowledge one is going to be recorded.

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Open Lines followed in the latter half of the program. Wesley from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, told Ian he was recently at a bar where he ordered a Modelo beer, then opened Facebook to find an ad for Modelo in his feed. Wesley reported having a Goose IPA after and soon ads for Goose began showing up for him on Facebook. "I don't think it's coincidence," Wesley suggested, to which Ian commented, "If that's really happening, that is super creepy."

Andy in Eugene, Oregon, recalled seeing a presentation from a data mining company which utilizes a deep-learning AI system to monitor conversations and background noise during online gaming sessions in order to target advertising. Sean from Rochester, New York, recalled a funny anecdote from a mock trail he was part of in high school. According to Sean, he had a recorder in his pocket and caught the prosecutor asking him to lie on stand. The recording was admissible since New York is a one-party consent state, and the prosecution's case was ended after the recording was played back during the mock trail, he said.

Previously scheduled guest, journalist Denver Nicks, will be rescheduled for a future show.

Bumper Music

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