Yesterday I wanted to watch a video about dog training. YouTube refused to show it and instead demanded proof that I am not a bot – detected by an automated bot, run by the company that earns its money with automation.
Same day: the Amazon driver only hands over my package against a one-time code I never requested. And in the browser waits a picture puzzle: click all bicycles to prove you are human.
The digital world no longer trusts us
Lots of small security measures add up to an authentication circus – and the next level is already being planned. From 2030, the 6G standard is supposed to get a built-in tracking function.
6G standard: radar tracking and movement profiles
Every mobile device as a radar station
The built-in tracking function could penetrate walls and create movement profiles. The German data protection conference even writes about observing vital parameters and gait patterns.
Who rejoices about the data
Health insurers could provably establish who sits on the couch instead of exercising. The tax office could check mileage logs against tracking data.
Real-time tracking of large events
Large events are supposed to be trackable in real time. In 2018 the EU forced GDPR on us – in 2030 we get seamless location and movement surveillance.
The authentication circus
Bot detection that is itself a bot. One-time codes nobody requested. Picture puzzles that are supposed to prove humanity. Each single measure sounds reasonable – together they create a world in which we constantly have to legitimise ourselves although we did nothing wrong.
Only meant to control the bad guys?
And of course: it is all only meant to control the bad guys. Never the owner. Thinking about it gives me goosebumps – which is exactly why it is worth looking at the question of where digital self-determination still exists and how to protect it.
Does this go far beyond the goal?
The video puts in order how small security measures can become total surveillance – and asks the question that remains at the end: self-determination or all-round surveillance?
➡️ All content in the embedded video was created with AI.