Man, cops sure do love calling their surveillance programs "Skynet"

Cory Doctorow 8:21 am Wed Aug 9, 2017

The Solano County Sheriff's Office wants to spend $2M on a network of vehicle surveillance cameras, a program it calls "Project Skynet."

"Skynet" is also the English translation for China's Tianwang surveillance system; it's also the NSA's location/communications metadata surveillance system; and also a Chinese company's pending trademark for a line of police batons, including a range of electrified stun-clubs.

But the UK beat everyone to the Skynet naming game in 1969, with the first launch of the British military communications satellite with the same name. So maybe it's James Cameron who was taking notes on cheesy naming schemes.

The Police Loves Naming Its Spying Tools 'Skynet'
[Samantha Cole/Motherboard]

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