Today on the National Public Radio program “Day to Day,” I talk with host Alex Chadwick about discredited news reports that US Defense Secretary Rumsfeld issued an edict banning phonecams in Iraq — as well as the confirmed release of a new Pentagon directive (PDF) outlining new restrictions on consumer wireless tech at DoD installations worldwide. While there may not be a Pentagon-issued ban on phonecams or connected digital cameras per se, there do appear to be new efforts under way to address the proliferation of those technologies in the military theater and throughout the DoD’s “information grid.” Alex says,
The images of abuse at Abu Ghraib, the photos of returning soldiers’ coffins — we see them because of this technology. And it’s caught defense officials off-guard.
Link to Day to Day “Xeni Tech: Phonecams and the Front Lines” (online audio available after 12PM PT, station search here)