Editing Surveillance (section)

===Wireless tracking===
This section refers to methods that involve the monitoring of [[tracking device]]s through the aid of wireless signals.

====Mobile phones====
Mobile carrier antennas are also commonly used to collect geolocation data on mobile phones. The geographical location of a powered mobile phone (and thus the person carrying it) can be determined easily (whether it is being used or not), using a technique known as [[multilateration]] to calculate the differences in time for a signal to travel from the cell phone to each of several [[cell towers]] near the owner of the phone.<ref name="bbc-phone-locate"/><ref name="foxnews-phone-locate"/> Dr. Victor Kappeler<ref>{{cite web|last=Kappeler|first=Victor|title=Forget the NSA: Police May be a Greater Threat to Privacy|url=http://www.plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/forget-nsa-police-may-be-greater-threat-privacy}}</ref>  of Eastern Kentucky University indicates that police surveillance is a strong concern, stating the following statistics from 2013:
{{quote|Of the 321,545 law enforcement requests made to Verizon, 54,200 of these requests were for "content" or "location" information—not just cell phone numbers or IP addresses. Content information included the actual text of messages, emails and the wiretapping of voice or messaging content in real-time.}}
A comparatively new off-the-shelf surveillance device is an [[IMSI-catcher]], a [[Telephone tapping|telephone eavesdropping]] device used to intercept mobile phone traffic and track the movement of mobile phone users. Essentially a "fake" [[cell site|mobile tower]] acting between the target mobile phone and the service provider's real towers, it is considered a [[man-in-the-middle attack|man-in-the-middle]] (MITM) attack. IMSI-catchers are used in some countries by [[law enforcement agency|law enforcement]] and [[Intelligence agency|intelligence agencies]], but their use has raised significant civil liberty and privacy concerns and is strictly regulated in some countries.<ref>{{citation | chapter=Section 100i – IMS I-Catcher | title=The German Code Of Criminal Procedure | chapter-url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stpo/german_code_of_criminal_procedure.pdf | pages=43–44 | year=2014 | access-date=November 27, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925164238/http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stpo/german_code_of_criminal_procedure.pdf | archive-date=September 25, 2015 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref>

In March 2020, British daily [[The Guardian]], based on the claims of a [[whistleblower]], accused the government of [[Saudi Arabia]] of exploiting global mobile telecom network weaknesses to spy on its citizens traveling around the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/29/revealed-saudis-suspected-of-phone-spying-campaign-in-us|title=Revealed: Saudis suspected of phone spying campaign in US|access-date=29 March 2020|website=The Guardian|date=March 29, 2020}}</ref> The data shared by the whistleblower in support of the claims, showed that a systematic [[spying]] campaign was being run by the kingdom exploiting the flaws of [[Signalling System No. 7|SS7]], a global messaging system. The data showed that millions of secret tracking commands originated from Saudi in a duration of four-months, starting from November 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/29/saudi-spies-ss7-phone-tracking/|title=Saudi Spies Tracked Phones Using Flaws the FCC Failed to Fix for Years|access-date=29 March 2020|website=TechCrunch|date=March 29, 2020 }}</ref>

====RFID tagging====
[[File:Paypass chip front.png|thumb|upright|left|RFID chip pulled from a new credit card]]

[[Radio-frequency identification]] (RFID) tagging is the use of very small electronic devices (called "RFID tags") which are applied to or incorporated into a product, animal, or person for the purpose of identification and tracking using radio waves. The tags can be read from several meters away. They are extremely inexpensive, costing a few cents per piece, so they can be inserted into many types of everyday products without significantly increasing the price, and can be used to track and identify these objects for a variety of purposes.

Some companies appear to be "tagging" their workers by incorporating RFID tags in employee ID badges. Workers in U.K. considered [[strike action]] in protest of having themselves tagged; they felt that it was [[dehumanisation|dehumanizing]] to have all of their movements tracked with RFID chips.<ref name="rfid-strike-uk">{{cite news|url=http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/print/6294|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121207145117/http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/print/6294|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 7, 2012|title=Two Stories Highlight the RFID Debate|date=July 19, 2005|work=RFID Journal|access-date=March 23, 2012}}</ref>{{vague|date=March 2012}} Some critics have expressed fears that people will soon be tracked and scanned everywhere they go.<ref name="usatoday-verichip"/>  On the other hand, RFID tags in newborn baby ID bracelets put on by hospitals have foiled kidnappings.<ref name="rfid-strike-uk" />

In a 2003 editorial, CNET News.com's chief political correspondent, Declan McCullagh, speculated that, soon, every object that is purchased, and perhaps ID cards, will have RFID devices in them, which would respond with information about people as they walk past scanners (what type of phone they have, what type of shoes they have on, which books they are carrying, what credit cards or membership cards they have, etc.). This information could be used for identification, tracking, or [[targeted marketing]]. {{as of|2021}}, this has largely not come to pass.<ref name="mccullagh-rfid">{{cite news|url=http://news.cnet.com/2010-1069-980325.html|title=RFID Tags: Big Brother in small packages|last=McCullagh |first=Declan|date=January 13, 2003|work=CNET News|access-date=July 24, 2012}}</ref>

{{clear}}

====RFID tagging on humans====
{{Main|Microchip implant (human)}}

[[File:RFID hand 1.jpg|thumb|right|Hand with planned insertion point for Verichip device]]

A human microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit device or [[RFID]] transponder encased in [[silicate glass]] and implanted in the body of a human being.  A [[subdermal implant]] typically contains a unique ID number that can be linked to information contained in an external database, such as personal identification, medical history, medications, allergies, and contact information.

Several types of microchips have been developed in order to control and monitor certain types of people, such as criminals, political figures and spies,{{Clarify|date=February 2016}} a "killer" tracking chip patent was filed at the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) around May 2009.

[[Verichip]] is an RFID device produced by a company called Applied Digital Solutions (ADS). Verichip is slightly larger than a grain of rice, and is injected under the skin. The injection reportedly feels similar to receiving a [[Injection (medicine)|shot]]. The chip is encased in glass, and stores a "VeriChip Subscriber Number" which the scanner uses to access their personal information, via the Internet, from Verichip Inc.'s database, the "Global VeriChip Subscriber Registry". Thousands of people have already had them inserted.<ref name="usatoday-verichip">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/surveillance/2007-07-21-chips_N.htm|title=Microchips in humans spark privacy debate|last=Lewan|first=Todd|date=July 21, 2007|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=USA Today|access-date=March 17, 2009}}</ref> In Mexico, for example, 160 workers at the Attorney General's office were required to have the chip injected for identity verification and [[access control]] purposes.<ref name="mex-pig-verichip">{{cite news|url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=23901004|title=RFID Chips Implanted In Mexican Law-Enforcement Workers|last=Gardener|first=W. David|date=July 15, 2004|work=Information Week|access-date=March 17, 2009|archive-date=April 12, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412014051/http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=23901004|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="csm-mexico-verichip">{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0804/p01s04-woam.html|title=Law enforcement in Mexico goes a bit bionic|last=Campbell|first=Monica|date=August 4, 2004|work=Christian Science Monitor|access-date=March 17, 2009}}</ref>

Implantable microchips have also been used in healthcare settings, but ethnographic researchers have identified a number of ethical problems with such uses; these problems include unequal treatment, diminished trust, and possible endangerment of patients.<ref name="RFID-implants">{{cite journal |last1=Monahan |first1=Torin |last2=Fisher |first2=Jill A. |title=Implanting inequality: Empirical evidence of social and ethical risks of implantable radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices |journal=International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care |date=2010 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=370–376 |doi=10.1017/S0266462310001133 |pmid=20923593|s2cid=12365071 }}</ref>