{"id":134204,"date":"2021-02-15T14:46:51","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T19:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=134204"},"modified":"2021-02-15T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:28:12","slug":"like-something-out-of-black-mirror-how-an-australian-town-became-a-smart-city-overnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/like-something-out-of-black-mirror-how-an-australian-town-became-a-smart-city-overnight\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Like Something Out Of Black Mirror\u2019: How An Australian Town Became A \u2018Smart-City\u2019 Overnight"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flike-something-out-of-black-mirror-how-an-australian-town-became-a-smart-city-overnight%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=134204&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1142487818.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"p2\">The recent development of Chinese \u201csmart cities\u201d has captured the attention of international governments and media outlets alike. Communities all over China are being infused with cutting-edge technology that extracts and analyses data to maximize urban livability and efficiency.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">But information about a population and its habits are not just being used by urban planners. Smart cities are doubling as an arm of the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s surveillance state, tracking citizens\u2019 every step and enabling the implementation of Orwellian social credit systems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">Now, smart cities are spreading beyond China. The first Western iteration of this technology lies in Australia\u2019s remote Northern Territory. An unassuming community of about 100,000, the city of Darwin has been unexpectedly transformed into a cutting-edge \u201csmart\u201d city, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/is-chinas-social-credit-system-coming-to-australia-117095\">likened<\/a> to something out of the Netflix show \u2018Black Mirror.\u2019 What is the impact of these \u201csmart cities\u201d on the freedom, privacy, and liberty of Darwin\u2019s unwitting inhabitants?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>A utopian plan for Darwin<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Between February 2018 and May 2019, local urban planners undertook a $10 million project called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.infrastructure.gov.au\/cities\/smart-cities\/collaboration-platform\/Switching-on-Darwin.aspx\"><span class=\"s1\">Switching on Darwin<\/span><\/a>.\u201d The rollout included the installation of 900 \u201csmart\u201d LED lights, parking sensors, 24 environmental sensors, free wi-fi, 138 CCTV cameras, and mobile CCTV units.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">According to the city, the plan to maximize efficiency requires the harvesting of data to help the local council better understand how Darwin functions. Data will also be made publicly available to help businesses and residents make better decisions. The police will also have access to this data to aid their crime prevention efforts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">According to the city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.darwin.nt.gov.au\/council\/transforming-darwin\/key-projects\/switchingondarwin%23accordion-4-26\"><span class=\"s1\">website<\/span><\/a>, \u201csmartification\u201d promises to revolutionize the community into a seamless city of the future using an \u201ceffective integration of physical, digital and human systems in the built environment to deliver a sustainable, prosperous and inclusive future for its citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>Smart city or surveillance city?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">What this utopian sales pitch from the local government lacks is one critical detail: the term \u201csmart city\u201d is synonymous with \u201csurveillance city.\u201d Darwin\u2019s tech upgrade means that data on where citizens are, what they are doing, and even how they are communicating will be harvested en masse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Sensors will track car and pedestrian movement. Public wi-fi systems will log when and where citizens access the internet. \u201cGeo-fencing\u201d will set off alarms when a person crosses virtual boundaries. CCTV cameras with infrared capabilities will stream around-the-clock real-time footage of Darwin\u2019s every crevice to the police.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Innovation Manager John Sattler <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntnews.com.au\/subscribe\/news\/1\/?sourceCode=NTWEB_WRE170_a&amp;dest=https:\/\/www.ntnews.com.au\/news\/darwin-to-build-future-on-smart-technology-based-on-cities-in-china-and-taiwan\/news-story\/2b72d3fcd22839d5c83a07515c77e49d&amp;memtype=anonymous&amp;mode=premium\"><span class=\"s1\">described<\/span><\/a> the plan to install hundreds of \u201cpoles fitted with speakers, cameras and wi-fi [which] allow council to gain data on how many people walk on what footpaths and where they use certain websites and apps in the city.\u201d The rest of the community, however, has not been as willing to sacrifice their privacy in return for efficiency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Darwinians have organized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/505755470028036\/permalink\/515375359066047\/\"><span class=\"s1\">public forums<\/span><\/a> to debate the \u2018smartification\u2019 of their community. Meanwhile, experts like University of Western Australia Professor Julia Powles have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-06-13\/darwin-smart-city-rollout-privacy-concerns-dismissed-lord-mayor\/11203528\"><span class=\"s1\">expressed<\/span><\/a> concern: \u201cWe\u2019re creating not smart cities in many ways, but surveilled cities, where there\u2019s constant monitoring, and evidence shows that really fundamentally changes how people operate and exist in cities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">But as far as Darwin\u2019s leadership is concerned, apprehensive citizens must be either luddites or conspiracy theorists. Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis scoffed at their concerns, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-06-13\/darwin-smart-city-rollout-privacy-concerns-dismissed-lord-mayor\/11203528\"><span class=\"s1\">saying<\/span><\/a>, \u201c[If you worry about privacy], don\u2019t get a license, give away your credit cards, and get out of Facebook.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>Privacy issues in Australia<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The modernization of Darwin is occurring against the backdrop of growing concerns about privacy and liberty in Australia. This fall, a pregnant Zoe Buhler made headlines when she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/lilzoelee\/videos\/10158502844469137\"><span class=\"s1\">live streamed<\/span><\/a> her arrest over a social media post promoting a Freedom Day anti-lockdown protest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Though her Facebook <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-8850247\/Pregnant-woman-Zoe-Buhler-arrested-organising-anti-lockdown-protest-Ballarat-legal-win.html\"><span class=\"s1\">post<\/span><\/a> urged protesters to wear masks and practice social distancing, she was arrested for incitement at home in her pajamas in front of her family while pleading with police, \u201cMy two kids are here. I have an ultrasound in an hour. I\u2019m happy to delete the post.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Buhler\u2019s apprehension drew criticism from the Australian Human Rights Commission which <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AusHumanRights?ref_src=twsrc%255Etfw%257Ctwcamp%255Etweetembed%257Ctwterm%255E1301404577250463744%257Ctwgr%255E%257Ctwcon%255Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.abc.net.au%252Fnews%252F2020-09-03%252Fcoronavirus-lockdown-protest-facebook-arrest%252F12624318\"><span class=\"s1\">expressed<\/span><\/a> serious concerns about the arrest. It is also indicative of the potential consequences that come with expanding the scope of police surveillance capabilities in Australia with the introduction of \u201csmart city\u201d technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The nation\u2019s laws allow for a slew of encroachments upon the privacy of citizens. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.au\/Details\/C2018B00180\"><span class=\"s1\">Encryption Act<\/span><\/a> of 2018, for example, gives law enforcement unprecedented access to communication data and requires telecommunications providers to hand over unlimited private information without informing customers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Australian citizens have no universal expectation of privacy as protections are afforded only by local state and territorial laws. For example, Perth has begun <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-06-08\/city-of-perth-rolls-out-new-facial-recognition-cctv-cameras\/11147780\"><span class=\"s1\">using<\/span><\/a> CCTV cameras with facial recognition while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2020-06-17\/facial-surveillance-slowly-being-trialled-around-the-country\/12308282\"><span class=\"s1\">trials<\/span><\/a> continue to roll out across country. Without any constitutionally protected right to privacy, smart cities and the data they harvest have unfettered potential to encroach on civilian liberty.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>Connections to China<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">A smaller city like Darwin could never develop \u201csmart city\u201d capabilities on its own. In May of 2019, Darwin\u2019s Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis and several members of his council traveled to Shenzhen, China, to attend a \u201csmart cities\u201d forum, costing Darwin taxpayers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ntnews.com.au\/news\/council-to-return-to-shenzhen-for-final-assessments-as-smart-city-project-comes-to-an-end\/news-story\/06de2544dd5238fb4edeeb9d5e88139c\"><span class=\"s1\">$23,000<\/span><\/a>. As it turns out, the connection to China runs deep.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Darwin\u2019s smart technology is modeled after Shenzhen, a locality whose government utilizes a social credit system that tracks and ranks citizens based on financial and social status and also implements facial recognition surveillance cameras that connect to drivers licenses and criminal records.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The smart city forum attended by Vatskalis was organized by controversial Chinese technology giant Huawei. The company also provides equipment and technological training to police in Xinjiang, the very region in which authorities are carrying out a series of systematic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/02\/20\/more-evidence-chinas-horrific-abuses-xinjiang\">human rights abuses<\/a> against the minority Uyghur Muslim population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Although United States intelligence <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/u-s-officials-say-huawei-can-covertly-access-telecom-networks-11581452256\"><span class=\"s1\">warns<\/span><\/a> against using Huawei technology and has issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/cia-warning-over-huawei-rz6xc8kzk?region=global&amp;--xx-meta=denied_for_visit=0&amp;visit_number=0&amp;visit_remaining=0&amp;visit_used=0&amp;--xx-mvt-opted-out=false&amp;--xx-uuid=8c36da4276fa9cb7374a39e362624ebe&amp;ni-statuscode=acsaz-307\"><span class=\"s1\">security alert<\/span><\/a> about its funding by the Chinese state, the company has maintained financial agreements across Australia, including a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-03-13\/huawei-contract-for-perth-trains-confirmed-by-wa-government\/10896220\"><span class=\"s1\">$200 million contract<\/span><\/a> to provide digital radios in Perth\u2019s public transportation systems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Similarly, a partially state-owned Chinese security company called Hikvision holds government contracts across Australia to provide and install surveillance cameras, many of which are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2018-09-12\/chinese-video-surveillance-network-used-by-australian-government\/10212600\"><span class=\"s1\">reportedly<\/span><\/a> placed in politically sensitive locations and may pose a national security threat.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">In China, Hikvision has placed cameras in nearly one thousand mosques to surveil religious gatherings and ensure that Uyghur imams are keeping to a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.afp.com\/en\/chinese-firms-cash-xinjiangs-growing-police-state\"><span class=\"s1\">unified government script<\/span><\/a>.\u201d The company also provides services and equipment directly to Chinese internment camps.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Yet another concerning company with connections to Australia is the state-owned China Electronics Technology Corporation. The company has developed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-05-02\/chinese-surveillance-app-reverse-engineered-by-rights-group\/11062670\"><span class=\"s1\">app<\/span><\/a> used by police in the Xinjiang region to surveil the bank transactions and internet activity of citizens, with particular attention given to the Uyghur population.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Nonetheless, CETC recently secured a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-05-03\/xinjiang-china-surveillance-company-partnership-with-aus-unis\/11074122\"><span class=\"s1\">$20 million deal<\/span><\/a> with the University of Technology Sydney to collaborate on technological innovations, which will be used to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afr.com\/world\/asia\/australian-universities-helping-china-to-modernise-its-military-20180627-h11y4s\"><span class=\"s1\">help<\/span><\/a> modernize the Chinese military and enable the continued surveillance of ethnic minorities. The company operates in 110 other countries, including Ecuador where their technology is enabling a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2018\/08\/09\/ecuadors-all-seeing-eye-is-made-in-china\/\"><span class=\"s1\">mass surveillance campaign<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Because of its relative geographical isolation from the rest of the western world, Australia\u2019s dependence on China for technology and trade are enormous. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.austrade.gov.au\/news\/economic-analysis\/australia-a-solid-trade-performance\"><span class=\"s1\">Australian government<\/span><\/a>, China accounts for over a quarter of Australia\u2019s global trade \u2014 2.5 times higher than its second largest partner, Japan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Dr. Michael Rectenwald is one of the few scholars beyond Australia to ring alarm bells. He posits in his book <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books\/about\/Google_Archipelago.html?id=xRzJxwEACAAJ\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>Google Archipelago<\/em><\/span><\/a> that this economic dependency may have ultimately led to Darwin\u2019s unexpected modernization: \u201cThe city of Darwin may have traded away its citizen\u2019s privacy, self-determination, and even its intellectual capabilities for economic security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\"><strong>\u201cSmart Cities\u201d are contagious<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">The technologies implemented in Darwin set a frightening precedent. Charles Darwin University senior business law lecturer John Garrick perhaps <a href=\"https:\/\/thenewdaily.com.au\/life\/tech\/2019\/06\/07\/darwin-smart-city\/\"><span class=\"s1\">summarizes<\/span><\/a> it best: \u201c[Smart cities have] a very powerful narrative, but we need to ask ourselves: where is this technology being imported from?\u201d Garrick warns this very well may be a foundation for \u201charder-nosed Chinese-style surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Indeed, Darwinians have seen the landscape of their city transformed under their feet in just over a year. Captive in an isolated city, these citizens have no say in what personal data of theirs will be used to make Darwin \u201csmarter.\u201d Without their consent, their city has adopted the very same technologies from the very same companies that enable China\u2019s dystopian social credit system, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2017\/12\/12\/chinas-chilling-social-credit-blacklist\"><span class=\"s1\">Human Rights Watch<\/span><\/a> describes as \u201cchilling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Though Darwin represents the first major adoption of Chinese \u201csmart city\u201d technology in the Western sphere, its Orwellian revolution has gone largely unnoticed. Rectenwald posits this may be by design: \u201cIsolated from other areas, [Darwin] may serve as an uncontaminated control group, allowing the gathering of raw data for measuring, to the degree possible, the effects of smart city life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">But Darwin will serve as just one case study of a global adoption of surveillance state technologies. The list of \u201csmart cities\u201d continues to grow, from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fig.net\/resources\/proceedings\/fig_proceedings\/fig2019\/papers\/ts06h\/TS06H_kabir_9946.pdf\"><span class=\"s1\">Nigeria<\/span><\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.malaysia.gov.my\/portal\/content\/30947\"><span class=\"s1\">Malaysia<\/span><\/a>, and even robot-cops in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/susannahbreslin\/2017\/06\/03\/robot-cop-dubai\/?sh=59b618f76872\"><span class=\"s1\">Dubai<\/span><\/a>. And now, Chinese-developed technologies have metastasized beyond Darwin into the broader western world, with failed attempts in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sidewalktoronto.ca\/\"><span class=\"s1\">Toronto<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/14\/us\/facial-recognition-ban-san-francisco.html\"><span class=\"s1\">San Francisco<\/span><\/a> and active trials underway in <a href=\"https:\/\/amsterdamsmartcity.com\/\"><span class=\"s1\">Amsterdam<\/span><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barcelona.cat\/infobarcelona\/en\/tema\/smart-city\"><span class=\"s1\">Barcelona<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Under the utopian guise of safety and progress, more and more citizens around the world will be forced to relinquish their privacy in return for a \u201csmarter\u201d community. As Jathan Sadowski <a href=\"https:\/\/reallifemag.com\/the-captured-city\/\"><span class=\"s1\">puts it<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThe \u2018smart city\u2019 is not an actually existing entity. It\u2019s a misleading euphemism for a corporately controlled urban future [that] makes infrastructure and surveillance indistinguishable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The recent development of Chinese \u201csmart cities\u201d has captured the attention of international governments and media outlets alike. Communities all over China are being infused with cutting-edge technology that extracts &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2181304,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1142487818.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Like Something Out Of Black Mirror\u2019: How An Australian Town Became A \u2018Smart-City\u2019 Overnight","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1142487818.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"\u2018Like Something Out Of Black Mirror\u2019: How An Australian Town Became A \u2018Smart-City\u2019 Overnight","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}