Concerns about government surveillance have been raised since the recent reveal of law enforcement agencies' use of a radar device designed for seeing who's inside of a house.
The technology, called the Range-R motion detector, has been secretly used for two years by over 50 law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service, according to Gizmodo. With this device, cops are able to see through the walls of a house from up to 50 feet away.
The detector works by holding the sensor against the outside of the home and sending radio pulses through the wall. The pulses then bounce off any object they touch, sending back signals that allow the detector to figure what exactly they bounced off and classify objects as "movers" (more active) or "breathers" (less active).
The issue with the Range-R is that officers are using it without a warrant, and the Supreme Court made it illegal years ago for officers to conduct searches with radar tech, USA Today reported. Privacy advocates and judges have expressed concern over law enforcement agencies not only using this technology, but doing so without the public's knowledge.
"The idea that the government can send signals through the wall of your house to figure out what's inside is problematic," said Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist for the American Civil Liberties Union. "Technologies that allow the police to look inside of a home are among the intrusive tools that police have."
However, current and former federal officials have defended the use of the radar detector, saying the information they get with the technology keeps officers safe during raids and rescue missions.
The creator of the Range-R says on the device's website that the detector makes it hard for people in a house to hide because it can tell if people inside are breathing, Gizmodo reported. The manufacturer added that it see through concrete, brick, wood, dirt and other common forms of types of building, ceiling and floor. However, it cannot see through metal.
With the Range-R detector's reveal, concern about law enforcement's surveillance technology that people don't know about is expected to grow.