How the Watch Dogs Video Game Series Mirrored and Predicted Real-World Digital Rights Issues

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a video game from twenty sixteen predicted a dystopian future that's becoming reality today. Watch Dogs Two featured hacking into security cameras—exactly what EFF technologists accomplished when they discovered Louisiana police left license plate readers unprotected online. The game showed cell-site simulators tracking people through their phones; a tool called Rayhunter now lets activists detect these real devices. Security robots and citywide surveillance systems depicted in the game? Companies like Axon and Flock Safety sell them to police departments today. Dave Maass of the EFF will discuss the uncanny parallels at San Diego Comic-Con on July twenty-fourth.

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