There’s a rumor going around (based on an “anonymous Apple employee” and a line in a patent application) that iOS 8 has a law enforcement “shutoff” switch that will prevent anyone with a device with that OS from filming cops within a certain radius.
Anyone else heard this, or know the facts one way or another about this? I’m trying to imagine how practical this would be (for the police, I mean), and having some difficulty.
I read that it has a feature that effectively shuts off the ability of law enforcement to extract data from an iOS 8 device without the owner’s consent, even if courts force Apple to help them, because it technically takes away the ability of Apple to violate the user’s security.
Could this have morphed into the rumor you describe?
I thought about that. It’s possible, but I’m kind of inclined to say that’s probably not what happened in this case. No hard evidence, though.
Considering that it’s perfectly legal in most cases to film police officers, I doubt that’s a feature that would be built into the OS.
But I’m an Android user, so what do I know…
How would IOS detect that someone is filming cops?
I’m highly doubtful. If the government asked for such a thing, it would quickly be taken to court and summarily slapped down by the Supreme Court, on a number of bases.
Presumably, police officers would carry around a short-range transmitter to advertise their presence.
My assumption, based on the way the rumor was worded, was that this was a proactive thing cops would need to have and do. That’s why I pondered practicality above.
So it would prevent any filming in the vicinity of a cop so equipped not just filming of the cop. So if I were taking a video of my family and a cop was nearby, my iPhone would stop filming? Sounds unworkable.
In any case, it’s complete nonsense since the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right of people to film police officers in public.
What would be the monetary incentive for Apple to include this feature? How would it make people buy more phones?
Apple filed a patent about it in 2012 but nothing has been implemented.
It’s an absurdly long shot, but that 2012 filing could be a white-hat move by Apple to keep that technology from being used at all.
What little I know of iOS 8, they’re using more encryption by default so law enforcement agencies can’t just willy-nilly look at data on or going in or out of your phone.
Or wear some sort of 2D barcode type tags.
Drug dealers of the world will be lining up for a phone with this feature. “Hmmm, camera is not recording when this narc-ish looking dude walked to my corner. Time to go.”
I’ll be writing an app for that. Cop transmitter detected, play theme song from “Cops”.
Or maybe just silently vibrate a warning.
Not to mention what they could do if they could send the same signal themselves.
Maybe it detects cop mustaches and large quantities of doughnuts?
The sound of batons breaking bones and the heady aroma of taser-seared flesh?