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Surveillance of personal, business, or political rivals has existed since the dawn of mankind. But technology to make remote surveillance possible only arrived in the mid-19th century. Devices that could monitor telegraph signals quickly followed the invention of the telegraph. Both sides in the Civil War used wiretaps, and, when the telephone was invented in the 1870s, surveillance spread to this technology as well.

Remote listening devices that could be planted anywhere were also perfected, and by the early 1950s, the development of the transistor accelerated miniaturization. “Bugs” were invented that could be planted in cufflinks, tie clasps and, as every James Bond fan realizes, even martini olives.44

Today, electronic surveillance has matured to the point where a camera the size of a pinhead can provide both a visual and audio record of your activities. Digital cable boxes monitor the viewing habits of television audiences. Conventions display technological wizardry devoted to the latest developments in electronic surveillance.

Privacy isn’t extinct, but technology has made it an endangered species.