Personal Black Box (Was: Re: Use google device tracking data to find bear killer)

[jim bell]

On Sun, 12 Dec 2021 13:22:15 -0500
Karl <gmkarl at gmail.com> wrote:

>> I found it poignant how this article could be viewed a number of
>> different ways.  Some people support poaching, some people hate it.

   > It's quite clear that one of the tasks of piece of fascist shit bell is to promote GPS surveillance.
You are wrong yet again, as usual.  I didn't cite this as a promotion.
But, it is an excellent interesting article that i think all Cypherpunks should learn about.  
Should the Government ROUTINELY employ cell-phone tracking data for crimes?  How much have they used it so far?
If they decide this is an okay tactic, how much more such usage will occur?  Will they be selective in that usage?  Would that amount to 'discrimination'?  Would people who rioted on 1/6/2021 at the nation's Capitol be traced, while the thousands more who rioted during 2020 be allowed to 'skate'?
While a person intending to commit a crime could turn off his phone, remove the battery (which is much less possible these days), press 'airplane mode', or wrap his phone in aluminum foil, a fairly large amount of crime is likely to be  spontaneous.
And, a couple years ago, i talked about an idea I called "Personal Black Box", a device useable for personal protection.  A person's smartphone might continuously record video and audio in the phone, perhaps uploading occasional frames to ensure that if the phone is suddenly destroyed or stolen, a record exists.
I pointed out that with the assistance of cell-phone networks, such video and audio uploads might even one day be continuous, full frame rate.  But that information might be not further transmitted, at least not beyond the local cell-phone tower, unless there was some triggering event:. Perhaps loss of signal from the phone, or a trigger word spoken, or even a loss of heart-rate detection or other medical distress.
Had the murdered Khashoggi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamal_Khashoggi?wprov=sfla1used such a thing, he would not only been recording audio (as he did), he would also likely have gotten video of his murderers.
This should keep the data-transmission cost low, in non-eventful usage. Unneeded data could simply be 'thrown away', minutes (or hours?) later, if nothing untoward has occured.
Or, cell phone networks would offer extra-low data transmission rates, if the user is willing to accept that the data will be actually sent to its final destination seconds, minutes, or even hours later.   
I thought of this, in part, because i have watched all seasons of the original "Forensic Files", a compendium of true-crime stories.  I concluded that the large majority, even a very large majority of such cases could be quickly solved if the victim had been using a PBB-type device 
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwM7E0KTNg9OJLyy9KzSvOTFZIy8xJLQYAaSoIcQ&q=forensic+files&oq=forensic+&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0i433i512l2j46i433i512j0i433i512l5j0i271.5337j0j16&client=ms-android-motorola-rvo3&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

While a PBB won't necessarily prevent a victim from being killed, there should be an enormous deterrent-value against  a potential killer if he knows (or suspects) that he will almost certainly get identified, arrested, charged, and convicted. And once arrested, he will likely commit no more crimes until he is released from prison.
This is a matter that Cypherpunks should learn about.  Shouldn't people be allowed to use technology to protect themselves, analogous to the way police currently use body-cams?
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