Stephen Colbert, who mocked Kellyanne Conway for pointing out that smart appliances can spy on users, is at odds with liberal journalists who’ve warned about the privacy implications of such appliances.
During a Late Show segment on Monday, Colbert took shots at Conway, a counselor to President Trump, for suggesting “microwaves that turn into cameras” could have gathered intel on Trump’s campaign.
“It’s true, it’s true, microwaves that turn into cameras. How do you think we film this show? Jim, show them camera three,” Colbert said as the camera panned to a microwave on a tripod.
But there’s overwhelming proof that smart appliances can – and do – spy on homeowners, and even Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt predicted that wars would erupt over this growing demand for “big data.”
For example, in a data dump released last week, Wikileaks revealed that CIA hackers have developed malware that can turn Samsung Smart TVs into listening devices.
Indeed, back in 2014 Infowars found it curious when Samsung admitted its TVs may record user’s personal conversations with their microphones and transmit them to third parties.
“Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition,” Samsung’s privacy policy stated.
Left-wing Salon.com was one of the first outlets to warn of this danger.
“We should not have to channel surf worried that the TV is recording our behavior for the benefit of advertisers and police,” wrote Salon correspondent Michael Price. “Companies need to become more mindful of consumer privacy when deciding whether to collect personal data.”
But it isn’t just TVs with this kind of technology.
“More and more personal and household devices are connecting to the internet, from your television to your car navigation systems to your light switches. CIA Director David Petraeus cannot wait to spy on you through them,” Wired reported in 2012 in an article aptly entitled CIA Chief: We’ll Spy On You Through Your Dishwasher.
It’s ironic how Colbert’s “comedic” criticism has been disproven by liberal journalists freaking out over their loss of privacy.
And remember, it was Colbert who said Trump would never become president.
“…To Mr. Trump, to answer your call for political honesty, I just want to say you’re not going to be president, alright?” Colbert declared in Oct. 2015, just as Trump’s campaign was gaining steam. “It’s been fun, it’s been great, I love you, but come on buddy… there is zero chance we’ll be seeing you being sworn in on the capital steps with your hand on a giant, golden Bible.”
But given that Colbert was wrong about Trump, why should we take his criticism seriously now?
And that’s what it is, criticism veiled as “comedy.”
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!