Orwell’s 1984: Who Is Controlling Your Phone Camera, Microphone & GPS?

France granted police the power to remotely access and control cell phone cameras, microphones, and GPS data in July 2023, a move that was compared to an Orwellian dystopia. But the reality is that phone breaches are widespread globally. 

Law enforcement agencies worldwide have varying degrees of access to mobile phones and the biggest surveillance states aren’t always dictatorships, according to a study by Comparitech. 

“This latest research of 50 countries finds that every police force has some level of access to your mobile phone and its data,” according to Rebecca Moody, head of data research. The majority employ remote phone hacking technologies - even in countries often thought of as privacy advocates like New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and Denmark. The US and UK, meanwhile, are implementing invasive practices that pose threats to privacy.

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Phone Surveillance in the US and UK

Even if your cell phone is off, the US government can turn it back on, Edward Snowden told NBC in 2014. Smartphone users are all but powerless to stop security services from getting ‘total control’ over their phones, Snowden added.

It’s been going on for decades. As far back as 2006, the FBI was reportedly tapping cell phone microphones as eavesdropping tools on alleged Mafia figures, activating their cell phone microphone and listening to nearby conversations. The technique is called a ‘roving bug’, Z-Net reported. “And it was approved by top US Department of Justice officials for use against members of a New York organized crime family.”

And it’s not just the FBI or NSA. UK intelligence agency GCHQ can hack phones without the owners' knowledge. GCHQ could access a handset by sending it an encrypted text message and use it to take photos or listen in on conversations, Snowden said. The UK government declined to comment when approached by the BBC.

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