Sapienza University of Rome has demonstrated a development called WhoFi, which makes it possible to detect the presence of people behind obstacles using regular Wi-Fi waves. The operating principle is based on analyzing signal fluctuations caused by a person being in the area of its action. The key advantage of this development is its complete independence from lighting conditions and the absence of the need for a direct line of sight to the object. The authors of the study call Wi-Fi a new method of monitoring that is supposedly more ethical from a privacy perspective. However, the expert community expresses concern: the potential of WhoFi calls into question the inviolability of private life. As far back as 2003, civil rights activists in the United States were sounding the alarm about the country’s drift towards pervasive surveillance. At the center of the discussions then were legislative initiatives and technical tools that could potentially infringe upon citizens’ freedoms. Since then, we have seen the introduction of biometric documents, facial recognition systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Now, Wi-Fi-based monitoring could be added to this arsenal of surveillance.
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