Changes in the delivery of books, music, and television extended the technologies of surveillance beyond the office, blurring the boundaries between work and home. The same technologies that make it possible to download digitally stored books, songs, and movies directly onto computer hard drives or mobile devices could make it possible for publishers and entertainment companies to record and monitor each individual’s browsing habits with unsettling specificity. Television too is being redesigned to create precise records of viewing habits. For instance, digital video recorders make it possible to store hours of television programs and enable viewers to skip commercials and to create their own program lineups. The data generated by such actions could create viewer profiles, which could then be used to make viewing suggestions and to record future shows.
Privacy of cell phone communication also has become an issue, as in 2010 when BlackBerry smartphone maker RIM reacted to demands from the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Saudi Arabia, and India that security forces from those countries be given the ability to intercept communications such as e-mail and instant messages from BlackBerry users within their borders. The U.A.E. later canceled a planned ban on the BlackBerry service, saying that it had reached an agreement with RIM, which declined to reveal its discussions with the governments of other countries. The demands were part of a rising tide of security demands from national governments that cited the need to monitor criminals and terrorists who used wireless communications.
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