Do you think widespread cell phone use will lead to government surveillance?

Richard Stallman, a software freedom activist and creator of the GNU operating system, expressed concern that cell phones will allow for a 1984-like totalitarian society in an interview with Network World. Stallman explained, “It's Stalin's dream. Cell phones are tools of Big Brother. I'm not going to carry a tracking device that records where I go all the time, and I'm not going to carry a surveillance device that can be turned on to eavesdrop.”

This response at Computer World looks at the conversation prompted by Stallman’s comments and the arguments in support of and against his statements. This article at Ostatic asserts that “Even if you agree that smartphones imply lack of privacy and vulnerability to surveillance, the right path forward is to develop secure ways to use mobile devices, instead of writing them off altogether.”  Do you think cell phones will give the government an opportunity to track people?

Eleanor Brown