QLD Just Passed a Law That Can Turn Your Fridge Into a Listening Device

Queensland Parliament just passed a bill that gives the state's police the right to remotely access your home appliances and turn them into surveillance tools.

The new bill, Counter-Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2017, means QLD police will have the power to remotely install software into Wi-Fi-capable devices or smart devices. These may include smart TVs, smart phones and, scariest of all, the family-friendly fridge.

These new laws are mostly intended to come into effect in times of a "terrorist emergency", which the legislation never quite seems to define. However, it can also extend to other times, such as when an emergency situation "involves or may involve an explosive or a person's life or safety being seriously endangered by an act of another person"; something that could presumably be applied to many everyday incidences.

Aside from hacking your appliances, the new laws will also allow officers the right to search people, devices and vehicles without warrants if they suspect they may be involved in the terrorist (or otherwise) emergency. They can also demand you give up footage of an attack if they believe you have it on your phone.

Just months ago, Police Commissioner Ian Stewart told the Brisbane Times that, due to advancements in home technology, many things could be turned into surveillance tools.

"It is not outside the realm that, if you think about the connected home that we now look at quite regularly where people have their security systems, their CCTV systems and their computerised refrigerator all hooked up wirelessly," he told the Brisbane Times. "You could actually turn someone’s fridge into a listening device."

And that they did.

Earlier this year, WikiLeaks revealed that the C.I.A. had been spying on U.S. citizens through their smartphones and smart TVs. It also showed that, while WhatsApp and other encrypted messaging services hadn't been compromised, the C.I.A. could still see what you were typing on the actual phone.