The communist rulers of East Germany relied on citizens to rat each other out to the Stasi. In our society, the emphasis is on technology. Soon we will have cars informing on each other:

A patent application from the automaker [Ford] titled “Systems and Methods for Detecting Speeding Violations” was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Jul. 18 2024, and was originally filed by Ford Jan. 12, 2023.

In the application, Ford discusses using cars to monitor each other’s speeds. If one car detects that a nearby vehicle is being driven above the posted limit, it could use onboard cameras to photograph that vehicle. A report containing both speed data and images of the targeted vehicle could then be sent directly to a police car or roadside monitoring units via an Internet connection, according to Ford.

Next, Ford might patent a microphone that starts up with the engine and reports racist or homophobic comments to the FBI.

On tips from Wiggins and R F.