Google Glass Tester Interrogated by Homeland Security

Google Glass Wearing Patron Questioned by Homeland Security as Potential Pirate

Wearing Google Glass recently proved perilous for a movie patron in Columbus, Ohio. On Monday, The Gadgeteer posted a frightening story apparently from a member of the Glass Explorer program. An hour into watching Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit wearing his prescription version of Glass, he said, he'd been abruptly pulled from the theater and interrogated at length by "feds," who accused him of attempting to pirate the movie by recording it.

After going through the photos on his device, the man says, the officers concluded that there'd been a misunderstanding, and theater owner AMC called a man from the "Movie Association," who gave him free passes to see the film again. But the man described himself as shaken by the incident, especially because he'd worn Glass to the theater before and had no trouble. The story initially seemed too dramatic to be true, but both AMC and the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement division have confirmed it.

So... what we have here is yet another example of someone who has done nothing wrong, but since he has the potential to be doing something wrong, he is interrogated by Homeland Security - which is an organization that is supposed to be fighting terrorists, by the way, not potential movie pirates -

And this leaves some questions wide-open about the American legal system. Homeland Security and the N.S.A. already bypass many of our Civil Liberties, although no one seems to be sure or agree on exactly how or how often, and although we keep being assured that they are not going against common criminals, this is obviously a lie - as one can see above.

U.S. Directs Agents to Cover Up Program Used to Investigate Americans - Rueters

And here.

Yet Obama says this kind of thing. Another point for this thread:

The presidential commission’s Dec. 12 report made this point explicitly. The panelists found no evidence that the National Security Agency had used its surveillance technologies in ways that violated the civil liberties of American citizens. Their big warning was that, in the future, some high-level officials—a Nixon-like president or a J. Edgar Hoover-like director—might “decide that this massive database of extraordinarily sensitive private information is there for the plucking.”

Source: Slate

So, on the one hand, a panel was unable to find existing violations of civil liberties - and in the same stroke, the panel warns about potential future misuses of the system - this is a glaring flaw that needs to be addressed. How come it isn't being addressed?

It might seem like fun and games now, but it would be much easier to deal with this issue before it becomes a problem and someone in charge misuses the system - which, according to the panel, is a possibility.

Are we really going to kick the can down the road on this one in the classic American fashion?

Positive thoughts about this just to even out the take a bit- at least the Google Glass tester got reimbursed for missing his movie, and at least Homeland Security admitted there was a misunderstanding - I have anxiety when it comes to dealing with this sort of issue, but it does help me relax when I realize that I'm not the only one in situations like this and to remember that I'm not doing anything wrong.

Okay end positive outlook. People get lazy about these kind of things. It may be nice to get reimbursed for the movie now - but that might also not always be the case in the future.

At least you have the comfort of knowing that you are completely safe from foreign bad guys since they have nothing better to do!

reply to post by boncho


Exactly, bright side, Boncho! And it's a good time to go into a career in law enforcement.

The whole shebang is all about control of people....any people that may possibly get in their way....
You no longer have ANY rights.
At least none that are worth a flying # in court.

Oh well... I wonder what's most disturbing in the NSA saga?

The fact that the Orwellian surveillance is really taking place, or the fact that nobody's doing sh-t about it?

And now you've got Homeland Security breaking in a theater in suspicion of piracy? What a crime heh.
Are they going to interrupt me in my own house in the near future, while I'm comfortably practicing a session of mast-bation if they believe I'm actively pirating a movie?

Time will tell, because I'm not gonna stop.

reply to post by St0rD


Hopefully they don't have a back door into the Google Glass video feeds... Google is already upset about security breaches in their data centers -

WSJ Link

"It's really outrageous that the National Security Agency was looking between the Google data centers, if that's true. The steps that the organization was willing to do without good judgment to pursue its mission and potentially violate people's privacy, it's not OK," Mr. Schmidt told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "The Snowden revelations have assisted us in understanding that it's perfectly possible that there are more revelations to come."

Mr. Schmidt said Google had registered complaints with the NSA, as well as President Barack Obama and members of the U.S. Congress.

"The NSA allegedly collected the phone records of 320 million people in order to identify roughly 300 people who might be a risk. It's just bad public policy…and perhaps illegal," he said.

Yet once again, the official word from the NSA is that they are doing nothing wrong.

When contacted Monday, the NSA referred to its statement last week that said recent press articles about the agency's collection had misstated facts and mischaracterized the NSA's activities.

"NSA conducts all of its activities in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and policies—and assertions to the contrary do a grave disservice to the nation, its allies and partners, and the men and women who make up the National Security Agency," it said in a statement last week.

And I wouldn't stop, either. I think this situation is better dealt with by humor than fear.

reply to post by darkbake





As long as we all do what we are told the PTB will keep us safe. They have a hard job keeping the collective safe. What would you rather have liberty or safety. Thankfully with all the new policies and teaching kids from an early age within a generation all will conform.




The rights of the masses over the rights of the individual will be the new normal. Heck we should probably rewrite the constitution to fit the new world we live in.

reply to post by darkbake


The NSA may well have a backdoor into glass. That's where the cultural backlash is coming from, the people calling users 'glassholes'.

Many years ago, I was using one of the first Intel Macbooks, when I got the sense that a certain web user had access to my camera, though the light didn't go on. I wrote it off as paranoia at the time, but years later I read this:
phys.org...

Two researchers at Johns Hopkins University have posted a research paper outlining a way to remotely control a computer webcam (on MacBook and iMac computers) without causing the in-use light to go on. In their paper, Matthew Brocker and Stephen Checkoway also note that they have learned that the FBI has known how to accomplish the same feat for several years.

Read more at: phys.org...

As a guy with basic comp-sci and electronics training, I know the simplest way to connect a light to a camera is to attach it to the power source: No power, no light. Camera powered, light. But Apple willingly chose a method way more complicated than this to facilitate secret access with no light, both to the benefit of the FBI, and the hacker who harassed me. Cases of the security state leaving known backdoors in communitation tech go back to the 50s, always simultaneously empowering criminals, and the agencies who fight them. When they could be wiped out all together, resulting in an increase in user privacy.

This is the baggage Google glass carries with it, and which may doom it. The idea of someone walking around with government/criminal hacker monitored video cameras taped to their head is socially absurd, even though the tech idea is really progressive and sound, provided they aren't compromised. Its a matter of trust in technology, and that seems to be a rapidly diminishing resource these days. As I heard someone say - "tinfoil is the new black".

Why all the commotion over movie piracy?

he describes agents roughly yanking the glasses off his face during the film and five to ten cops and security guards waiting outside the theater,

What happened to the theatre manager who would approach the patron " excuse me sir, can you please stop recording the movie" ? If it looked like he was doing that

What I find most disturbing though is the that so much now comes under the jurisdiction of "Homeland" security - they really couldn't have picked a more Soviet Russia era name for it too?
Potential movie piracy is now a Homeland / National security issue? Seriously, WTF?

It also seems they sure have some very serious insecurity problems when it comes to dealing with people. Why do they always seem to turn up in such numbers? Is it because they think the individual is gonna whip out an AK and rocket launcher, or maybe they are all pumped up on their own sense of importance (and steroids) and want a piece of the action in a hands on beatdown of the perp?

I know things over this side of the pond can seem a little bizarro at times, but I don't think anywhere else on the planet has anything on the application of "law enforcement" where the USA is concerned.

Best part of this is that now we have another big reason not to go
to a movie theater lol. If this doesn't get stomped on very soon
you might well see movie theaters gone within a few short years.

They have already lost millions to much easier options and if there
is any possibility my privacy will be invaded when i go to enjoy a
movie then i will simply sit home and deal with the limited boring
spying the NSA does on my super secret netflix of DOOM watching.

I refuse to have a strangers hands all over me for a movie that a little
patience will get me for 1/20th the cost and no close encounter with
a latex glove.

reply to post by darkbake


I had several questions about this story but after reading all the replies, most have been answered. Except this

Shadow Recruit wearing his prescription version of Glass

What is a prescription for Glass?

reply to post by StoutBroux


That would mean that he was wearing a Google Glass pair that had a prescription for his bad eyesight integrated in it - it might also mean that he uses them as his normal pair of glasses and wouldn't be able to watch the movie without them if they were his only pair.

It's actually a bit relevant to the story, because he could have been wearing them into the movie theater for the entirely legitimate reason of being able to see the movie.

St0rD
Are they going to interrupt me in my own house in the near future, while I'm comfortably practicing a session of mast-bation if they believe I'm actively pirating a movie?

Time will tell, because I'm not gonna stop.

This reminds me of those U.S. soldiers using hi-tech infra-red to watch one of the local Iraqi farmers visiting Betsy the cow in the barn at night. There would be a couple charges against that farmer if it was here in the states, no need to trump anything up, just get the evidence admitted somehow, that's the trick.

I guess they'll just have to wait for the day when the currently (more or less) illegal spying is admissible in the courts, until then, it's just some government paid voyeurs getting their jollies.

A bit off topic but who watches cams anyway?? When I get them off usenet I never watch them because the quality is so poor - I wait till the dvd is ripped and uploaded.

reply to post by darkbake


Thanks, not trying to be snarky, just never hear of it and I thought they weren't really eye glasses, just some extended viewing device outside of contacts or prescription glasses.

I wish our law enforcement and federal agents would STOP wasting taxpayer money for this crap! Don't they have real criminals to catch? Wasting our time, and money harassing people who aren't harming anybody.